The Best Ship of All
by Fionnabhair Nic Aillil
Summary: Shared joy is a double joy, shared sorrow is half a sorrow.' The development of Hermione and Ginny's relationship, a friendship left mainly off the page in the novels.
1. Chapter One

Chapter One

Hermione Granger had never had many female friends. She got on fairly well with her roommates, Lavender and Parvati, but they seemed to live in each other's pockets a lot, and there certainly wasn't space for her. She didn't mind really – Harry and Ron were the best mates a girl could ask for, and over the years she had rather begun to think that really, girls could be quite silly and shallow, and why would anyone even _want_ to be friends with them? True, Harry and Ron hadn't been exactly wonderful throughout her third year, but she preferred not to think about that – it had only been a temporary glitch. She had reasoned this out carefully many times, and Ron's invitation to the World Cup served only to confirm her hypothesis.

So it came as something of a surprise when, the second Hermione entered the house, Ginny Weasley elbowed her way past Ron and actually grabbed her arm, pulling her up to the third floor. Ron simply shrugged his shoulders and tossed Crookshanks out the back door as Hermione gazed at him helplessly.

Ginny chattered to her in a way that was both charming and slightly disconcerting. "I'm so glad _you're_ here, it's been nothing but boys, and boy talk all summer, and Ron telling me over and over that the Cannons will win this year – and then of course, there was all that bother with the twins. _I_ think it's cool, but don't say anything like that around Mum – you don't know how she gets. Ron isn't allowed in my room by the way – he breaks things. He doesn't mean too, but he broke so many last summer that Mum lost her temper and said he couldn't come in any more."

Ginny's room was quite small, with just enough room for a bed, a camp bed, a wardrobe and a small desk. The walls were painted a cool apple green, and there was a small shelf of well-thumbed paperback novels above the desk. There wasn't a frill or a ribbon in sight, and Hermione found herself liking it.

She looked out the window, to see Crookshanks chasing what looked like a potato on legs, as Ginny continued. "Of course, I told Mum that since you're here, we really should have more long towels, cause there's two of us now, so she said she'll put them aside for us."

Hermione blinked. "Why?"

Ginny tossed her head. "Oh, the boys always take them, and I've got to use the small ones, you know, that only barely cover everything – not that it matters – I don't really have _anything_ yet, not like you, but it would be so _embarrassing_ if… well, you can imagine."

"I don't get it – it's only your brothers."

"And Harry. I don't want him seeing me…like that."

Hermione felt excitement quicken her stomach. "Harry's coming?"

Ginny started to study a stuffed animal intently. "Yeah," she said, "They've probably gone to get him already."

"What? But I…"

"You wouldn't have wanted to go Hermione. His relatives are horrible. Ron says they actually tried to starve him once. Besides, I wanted to show you my room."

Ginny grinned at her, and Hermione smiled back uncertainly. Ginny had been very nice to her when she'd been fighting with Ron and Harry, but Hermione wasn't sure they were actually friends. Ginny hung around with a group of girls from her own year, and even had the stereotypical 'best friend' that Hermione had never had – a dark-skinned girl called Louise. Hermione didn't really know them, except to see, although Ginny had asked her to sit with them, she had never quite worked up the courage to test if the invitation was genuine.

Ginny seemed to sense her disquiet, for she added, "I'm not sure Mum would have let you go anyway. They've gone by Floo, and you've never gone before have you? I mean, after Harry ended up in Knockturn Alley his first time, I don't think she'd want…well…"

Ginny's voice trailed off, and Hermione had to swallow a surge of irritation. Why she had to talk like that, as if Hermione didn't already know these things…Ginny seemed to firm her shoulders, before saying defiantly, "I mean, if you want to go downstairs and wait for them, that's okay. I don't want to bore you."

There was an odd look on Ginny's face; slightly scared, as though she thought Hermione might be angry, but also quite firm. She didn't want Hermione to do her any favours. Hermione realised that perhaps she'd been a bit rude, and she sat down on the camp bed, saying, "How was your summer?"

Ginny smiled, and just as with Ron, Hermione felt a crazy urge to beam right back. Ginny shrugged and said, "Oh it's been pretty good. Bill and Charlie took me to the Uganda match. It was brilliant, even if it was a bit… Have you met Bill? You'll like him, he's really cool. He gives us all hope we won't turn out like Percy… We're sharing a tent at the World Cup you know, and I talk in my sleep, so if I get started and it annoys you, you can just poke me in the stomach or something. I won't mind."

Ginny winked at her, and suddenly Hermione found herself relaxing. Ginny was light and bright and friendly in a way that usually out her slightly on guard, because, after all, why would such a girl want to be friends with her? But, Ginny seemed completely sincere, and she was actually a lot of fun.

They ended up chatting for nearly half an hour before going downstairs. It was the first time Hermione had had a real chance to talk with Ginny since that horrible day in third year, and she enjoyed it. Talking with a girl was different – Ginny understood things in a way that was refreshing after Ron and Harry. Still, it wasn't until she blushed strawberry red upon seeing Harry smile at her, that Hermione realised she could really like this girl.

Author's Note

This story picks up a thread I began in _Essential Medicine For Ordinary Witches_, which I suggest you read. It is not a sequel exactly, but the two stories exist in the same universe. The title for this story comes from an anonymous quote: "There are big ships and small ships. But the best ship of all is friendship."


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Hermione had eaten a late dinner on the Thursday night of her first week back, and she was rushing to get back to the Common Room before curfew. She felt rather tired, but also elated, with that joy that only came when an inspiration had proven to be just as brilliant as she had hoped. She knew her Society was going to be a success.

Hermione was so excited, she hardly noticed Ginny standing outside Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. When it finally dawned on her what she was seeing, she came to a sudden stop, and doubled back. Ginny's hand was tracing the letters of the Heir of Slytherin's message, and when she turned to look at Hermione, her face was guilty. She looked strangely…old, and Hermione realised uncomfortably just whom she resembled. The only other person she knew with such eyes was Harry, and even he did not look so haunted as Ginny did at that moment.

Trying to keep her voice kind, Hermione said, "Ginny? What are you doing?"

Moving abruptly from her frozen position, Ginny pulled Hermione into the bathroom with surprising strength. "All right," she said, "I'll tell you. But you have to promise not to…freak out, okay?"

Hermione nodded, feeling rather as if Ginny was the older, but curious all the same.

Ginny continued, her tone urgent and her face rather white. "It's…see, the thing is Hermione, every time I see that writing, it upsets me, and I remember everything that happened…my first year. And I'm sick of it. I can't keep being scared of a wall – I won't. So, before we came back, I decided I was going to keep coming back to all the places that remind of…Riddle, until they don't scare me anymore."

Hermione nodded numbly. This was rather shocking. Ginny's voice grew fierce as she said, "And you can't tell Ron…or Harry, or anybody… He wouldn't understand, and it'll just upset him and then…"

"Okay – I won't. But, Ginny, I thought…I thought you were okay once Harry…"

Her voice trailed off. She'd never asked – and she was willingly to bet that Ron hadn't either. As for Harry, well…she wasn't quite so sure about that one; he always seemed to be aware of Ginny, she'd seen him pick her out of a crowd dozens of times, most of them without speaking, but whether he'd ever actually spoken to her…

Ginny sighed, moving to lean against the wall. "I am okay, Hermione. Really. It's just, can you be okay and not okay at the same time?"

"I don't know."

"It's just, last year…you know, I kept telling myself – don't think about it, just don't think about it, because I couldn't have. I don't think, anyway." The words were pouring from Ginny in a great gush, and Hermione wondered how long she'd been keeping them in. "I felt as though, if I thought about it, I'd collapse, so I never did. But it's not like that now – I _can_ think about it, so I have to, you understand? And if I think about it long enough, and hard enough, then maybe it'll stop hurting."

Ginny's uniform was neat, though a little worn, and her skin glowed, and Hermione could see the reflection of the lamplight in her hair, but for the first time she felt not a trace of envy. At least she could feel safe in her own body.

She was dumbstruck – still struggling for something to say when Ginny put her hands to her face and took three deep, shuddering breaths. Slowly, Hermione put a hand on her shoulder, trying to give her some small comfort.

Ginny brought her hands down, and gave Hermione a broad smile – the kind of smile that said 'I'm okay. Now let's stop talking about it.'

Hermione sighed and said, "It's just, I don't know what to tell you."

Ginny laughed satirically. "It's okay – not too many people can identify with being possessed by You-Know-Who. The only other one I've heard of is dead."

Hermione risked it. "I'm sure it'll happen to Harry soon enough."

Ginny caught her eye, and they both burst out laughing, though why Hermione wasn't exactly sure – it certainly wasn't a humorous prospect. Ginny went over to the sink and dabbed some water on her face, before saying, "You don't need to worry Hermione. I don't really want to talk to _anyone_ about it – it's just there, and it has to be done, and I'm doing it, and I really am fine."

"I just want to help."

Ginny gave her a ghost of a smile, and said, "I know. And you have. I can't exactly tell Louise, or…any of the others this stuff. It's not really made for sharing over a Chocolate Frog is it?"

They made their way out of the bathroom as Hermione said, "Okay then. And if you ever need to…talk, well, you can find me, you know."

"Thanks Hermione."

A brief silence fell between them, but it was kindly rather than awkward, and soon Ginny said, "So, how's the first week treated you?"

She sighed. "It's been busy, with all our homework and studying and everything – and then of course I've been researching about the enslavement of House Elves, and do you know Ginny, it's been going on for centuries! Innocent creatures being forced into servitude, just because…because…"

"They're small and hairy?"

Hermione seized on this show of support. "Exactly! Don't you think that's _outrageous_! Don't you think someone should do something about it?"

Ginny looked at her warily and said, "What do you have in mind?"

Hermione pulled out the box of the brand new badges that she'd spent so long on, and showed one to her. Ginny's expression grew ever more dubious as Hermione explained the aims of S.P.E.W. but she listened to her without interruption, before asking, "But, isn't this a bit…putting the cart before the horse?"

Hermione drew herself up to her full height (a whole three inches taller than Ginny) and said, "What do you mean?"

Ginny obviously sensed that she'd made a gaffe, for she seemed to retreat a little. "It's not that I don't agree with you Hermione, I do. Really… but, isn't getting a Ministry representative…well, don't you need to do something else first?"

"Such as?"

"Well, Dad always said that House Elves _like_ their jobs…"

"Enslavement."

"Okay, enslavement…anyway, they're pretty powerful creatures Hermione. Don't they need to realise that they can be free, and that they'd like it, before you start pushing for equal representation in the Ministry?"

"But they're just brainwashed Ginny."

"I know – I don't know, maybe I'm wrong. You're much cleverer than me. I was just saying."

They were almost at the portrait hole, and Hermione couldn't resist saying, "Well, I'm going to tell Harry and Ron now, and I'm sure they'll agree with me."

Ginny nodded. "Okay."

Her tone was quite conciliatory, and Hermione relented a little mentally. Everyone was entitled to their point of view after all. She was glad when Ginny said, "You know, you should have dinner with me some night – we'll never get to talk otherwise."

Hermione glanced at her. "I'd like that." She said.

"Great then. Some night when they're being a bit stupid, just come and sit with us."

Slyly Hermione said, "You could always come sit with us for a night."

Ginny looked at her affectionately, but said, "Don't be silly Hermione. I'd only be in the way."

Hermione was about to protest this, when Ron caught sight of her, and gestured for her to join him and Harry, before giving Ginny an irritated look. She opened her mouth to say…something, apologise maybe, but Ginny beat her to the punch.

"It's okay Hermione, honestly. I better go – I've got an Astronomy class to prepare for. Talk to you soon, okay?"

"Yeah. Do."

Ginny walked away, and Hermione went to join her two best friends in the world, feeling that maybe, just maybe she was on her way to making a third.


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"I suppose the Slytherin's have been having a field day?" Ginny said, scowling at the other house's table.

Hermione picked at her food – everything seemed strangely unappetising today. "Yeah," she said, "Pansy Parkinson's been taking every opportunity. I can't even go into a bathroom without…"

Ginny waved a hand, as if brushing something out of Hermione's face. "Just ignore the lot of them Hermione. They're only jealous."

"Of what? Getting publicly humiliated?"

Ginny laughed, shaking her long hair out down her back. Hermione couldn't help but smile as she said, "Oh, you know, being the school Champion's girlfriend, especially when the school Champion is _Harry Potter_, and good-looking…"

She sealed her lips suddenly, and looked at Hermione as though to see if she'd noticed. She looked uncharacteristically shy, and Hermione felt a surge of irritation. She could _not_ deal with this now.

"Ginny," she said, "If this is about you fancying Harry, I've known about that for ages."

Ginny looked her dead in the eye. "Of course you did," she said, "Everybody does. But it would only be polite to pretend you didn't."

Hermione flushed. "Sorry."

"That's all right."

"It's just, Ron and Harry still aren't speaking, and hearing all those girls say that Harry's couldn't possibly be me, because she's 'stunningly pretty'..."

Ginny looked at her severely. "Hermione – don't be stupid."

"What?"

"You are pretty."

"Ginny, it's nice of you to say, but I know I'm not." Hermione said, thinking miserably of her bushy hair and massive teeth.

"Yes, you are. I mean it Hermione… Eat your dessert, okay."

Ginny pushed a slice of chocolate cake onto her plate and said, "Bill told me something this summer."

Her voice trailed off and Hermione said impatiently, "What?"

"He told me that most girls don't know it, but nearly all girls are pretty. And anyway, when it comes down to it, despite what boys might say, no one falls in love with a face. Unless they're crazy. And you wouldn't want a crazy boyfriend."

Hermione scoffed, not wanting to believe it was true. "He was just saying that."

"No he wasn't! I mean, yeah, it was good to hear, after Fred and George spent like six hours talking about bloody Veela, but…Bill wouldn't lie to me."

Hermione sighed. "Yeah. I hope so. It's the only good thing I've heard this week." Something in Ginny's words had awoken an incredibly strong yearning within her to have someone look at her like she was female, and pretty, and desirable. She was fifteen years old; she wore earrings now, and could make her mass of hair look nice, if she really tried, and still…she had never had a boy look at her like she was anything special. Instead Ron treated her like she was a Quaffle; not that it mattered, Ron was just a friend, and a stupidly stubborn friend at that, but Hermione had in her deepest, darkest self, after seeing his reaction to _Fleur Delacour_, that his complete indifference to her did sting.

"Are they really that bad?"

Hermione rubbed her head at the question – the mere thought of either Harry and Ron seemed induce a headache these days. "Oh," she said, "They're not _that bad_. They're appalling. Harry mopes around the place all the time, and really I'm trying to help him, but nothing seems to cheer him up, not when I tried to help him with his Summoning Charms, and as for Ron…"

Her voice trailed off. Somehow, Hermione felt it would be bad form to bad mouth Ron to his sister, but Ginny thankfully was sympathetic, and said, "Is he still being stupid about the Goblet?"

Hermione nodded. "I don't know what his problem is, Ginny. I mean I've told him, and told him, but he just won't listen to sense. I mean, it's perfectly obvious that Harry never put his name in, but does that matter to Ron? No."

Ginny sighed, and said, "It's just what he's like…Percy and Charlie are exactly the same. Completely stubborn, if they get a bee in their bonnet, there's just no talking to them."

Hermione laughed. "Oh this is something Ron and Percy and Charlie do, is it?"

Ginny looked indignant. "Hey," she said, "I might do it too, but I'm not nearly as bad. At least I realise when I'm being a brat."

"I wish Ron did," Hermione said glumly, "It'd make things a lot easier."

"He'll sort it out Hermione, he just needs a bit of time. You know, we Weasley's have very hard heads, so common sense just takes a little longer to penetrate."

Harry slumped into view as Ginny finished speaking, and sank down beside him. "Where have you been?" Hermione asked, she hoped sympathetically, though she wasn't sure she had succeeded.

"I had dinner with Neville. I didn't much feel like talking." The self-pity in his tone was so palpable that Hermione wanted to shake him.

Ginny glanced at her before saying, "There's treacle tart if you want it Harry."

Hermione blinked – even she hadn't memorised Harry's favourites, and she ate with him almost every day. But, he only flicked a smile at Ginny briefly and said, "Thanks," not really looking at her.

After a moment, Ginny seemed to deflate, and she stared down at her own desert. Fortunately she didn't notice Harry grinning, actually grinning at Cho Chang across the hall; it was the first real smile Hermione had seen on him in weeks, which was the only thing that restrained her irritation. He could stand to be a bit nicer.

Ginny sighed and said, "I better go. I've got to an essay on Boggarts."

"Oh, you've been doing them? What does yours turn into?"

Ginny's face looked suddenly strained, and Hermione could have bitten her tongue. She didn't know what Ginny's Boggart would be exactly, but she was fairly sure it would be more terrifying than Professor McGonagall. Ginny's voice was sad as she said, "It's…could I talk to you about it later Hermione? I said I'd meet Louise in the library." Hermione nodded eagerly.

Ginny stood up, rolling the sleeves of her robes up to her elbows, and said, "And, by the way, I had a word with Colin. He won't be talking about you, either of you, to Rita Skeeter any more. He really didn't mean any harm, he's just…thoughtless."

Hermione felt limp with relief – at least the rumours would be given no additional fuel – and Harry roused himself enough to say, "Thanks Ginny," and she gave them both a smile before she left. Hermione was sorry for it, as Harry's mood was no more harmonious than it had been before.


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four 

Hermione resisted the urge to rip her Arithmancy chart to shreds. One last equation eluded her, and she couldn't shake the suspicion that the answer was staring her in the face. Harry and Ron's noisy game of chess nearby wasn't helping either, and she could almost have wished they were still fighting – it would have made things far more peaceful.

She had pressed a hand over her eyes, desperately trying to find a solution, when someone pulled out the chair next to her with a clatter, and sat down in a flurry. Unable to help herself she snapped, "What?"

Hermione looked up to see Ginny positively beaming at her. "Hermione," she said, "You won't _believe_ what's happened. I'm going to the Ball!"

Ginny's eyes were sparkling, and she looked terrifically ecited, and though Hermione thought she knew what was coming, she gave into the temptation for a chat and said, "That's great! Who asked you?"

Ginny tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looking slightly shy. "Oh," she said, "Neville came over to me at dinner; it's just as friends, but …"

Hermione smiled. "I'm so glad," she said, "I wasn't sure he'd work up the courage. I mean I told him …"

She cut herself off, suddenly aware that she might have made a blunder. Ginny stared at her, clearly suspicious. "Told him what?"

"I told him to ask you," Hermione confessed, wanting the floor to swallow her, "Because I can't go, and …"

"So he only asked me because you weren't available?" Ginny seemed to shrink a little.

"Welll, yes, but … only because he doesn't lnow you well – he thought you'd already be going with someone."

Ginny stared in Harry's direction for a moment, and snorted, "Not bloody likely." She did look rather deflated however, and Hermione wished she'd never spoken.

"I'm really sorry Ginny … it's just, I wanted you to go, so … since Harry is such an idiot, I thought … I should have said something to you first."

Ginny brightened a little at this and said, "You really wanted me to go?"

"Yeah, I mean, it'll be fun," Hermione gulped, thinking of entering the Great Hall, "I mean, I thought we could, you know, get ready together, and … maybe you could help me tame my hair."

"Your hair's lovely," Ginny said absently, "But, yeah, I'd like that. No one else in my year is going, so … that'd be really nice."

Hermione let out a sigh of relief, and Ginny giggled. "I don't bite people's heads off you know. Well, maybe once."

They quieted momentarily, just in time to hear Harry bemoaning the loss of his queen, and Ginny said, "So who are you going with?"

Hermione chewed on her lower lip a little – she wasn't sure she wanted to say it out loud just yet; it would make it too real. Yet, at the same time, since she'd gotten over the initial shock, she'd been bursting to tell someone. Certainly she couldn't tell Ron, he'd probably think she wasn't good-looking enough for… Hermione cut that thought off quickly, as it would only make her angry. After all, who better to tell than Ginny? "Okay," she said, "Do you promise not to scream?"

Ginny's eyes widened, and she zipped her mouth shut and threw the key over her shoulder. "Okay," Hermione said, taking a deep breath. But she couldn't say it, out loud, where people might hear. "I'll just whisper it."

She leaned forward and said the name into Ginny's ear – the effect was impressive to say the least. She actually goggled at Hermione, and she felt bpund to say, "You promised not to scream."

Ginny nodded, seemingly overcome, and it took her several moments to say, "That's brilliant Hermione! When did he ask you? Is he nice? What are you going to wear?"

The barrage of questions unsettled her a little, and the best she could do was to say, "Emm, he asked me three days ago."

"Three days ago! Why didn't you tell me?" Ginny looked almost outraged and added, "You should have come up to my dorm immediately!"

Hermione was honestly surprised at this, and said curiously, "You would have wanted to know?"

"One of my friends is going to the ball with a Triwizard Champion … of course I'd have wanted to know!"

"Oh," Hermione said, "I didn't think … I'm used to Harry and Ron, you see."

Ginny laughed. "So?" she said, "What's he like?"

Hermione squirmed, not quite sure why she felt so uncomfortable. "Well … he's really clever, and … he knows so much Ginny, and he's very … courteous. He kissed my hand you know."

Ginny sighed and pretended to swoon. "That's _wonderful_ Hermione"

But having started, she had to continue. "It's just," she said, "I don't understand why he likes me. He's so much older and … he's a Champion, he could have anyone, and I'm just …"

"Well, it just proves he has good taste." Ginny said stoutly, giving her a stern look.

"Maybe," Hermione said doubtfully, "But, the thing is, he's really nice and everything, really nice … but I'm not really … comfortable around him, he's so much older, and, even though we've met up in the library, I still …"

Ginny smiled, "Don't worry Hermione, once you get to know him a bit better, like at the Ball … you're probably too used to Ron."

Hermione stiffened. She had actually had, well, thoughts about Ron asking her to the Ball, and turning up with flowers, and generally acting in a most unRon-like manner, but… How did Ginny know?

"What do you mean?" she said.

"Oh nothing, I'm probably all wrong, it's just sometimes, I thought that, maybe, you and Ron were …"

Hermione decided to be open about it. "You too? See, sometimes, when he does something … I even think that, but then he says such awful things, and he can be so _stupid_ sometimes …"

"I know," Ginny said, looking sympathetic, "Think how it feels to be related to him."

"And he's been so _awful_ about this Ball that …"

"What's he said?"

"Oh, just that he'd go with the best looking girl he could find, even if she had all the personality of a pigeon." Hermione folded her arms and slumped down in her chair, scowling at the memory.

"Well," Ginny said, "If he can't see that you're really pretty, then he's the dumbest thing on two legs. We're going to have so much fun Hermione! Tell me about your dress robes."


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Hermione rapped on Ginny's door impatiently. She knew it was quite likely that Ginny was fast asleep, but she was far too angry to care. She had to talk to someone, and Ginny was, beyond doubt, the best person. In other circumstances, Parvati might have been sympathetic, but given Ron's treatment of her sister, coupled with Harry, Hermione thought she might be doing some ranting and raving of her own.

And she wanted to talk to Ginny anyway. They had missed each other somewhat at the Ball, though Hermione had caught Ginny beaming at her as she entered the hall on Viktor's arm. Hermione hoped she'd had a good night – no other third years had been invited to the Ball, and she was worried she might have been lonely. At least she had looked pretty – which, as Hermione knew well, could by itself be a source of great comfort.

Just as she raised her hand to knock on the door again, Ginny opened it, a toothbrush sticking out of her mouth. She muttered something incomprehensible, and gestured that Hermione enter. The dormitory was empty, and Hermione couldn't resist slamming the door on her way in. Ginny raised an eyebrow before bending over the sink to spit out.

"Your brother," Hermione announced, "Is a nincompoop."

Ginny's eyebrows shot up, and her mouth made a small 'O' of surprise as Hermione sat down heavily on the foot of her bed. Dabbing at her face with a towel Ginny said, "What's he done now?"

Suddenly Hermione felt rather wobbly, a surge of tears welling up in her, "He said … He said Viktor only asked to the Ball to find out about Harry – it couldn't _possibly_ be because he likes me, that's just completely unimaginable to Ron."

Ginny eyes shone with sympathy, and she said, "He's just thick. But he's completely wrong Hermione – and jealous. He just wishes he'd thought of asking you first, that's all. You know why Viktor asked you – cause he fancies you."

Hermione snorted. "Ron probably thinks I'm not pretty enough for a Champion."

And then Ginny did something that really surprised her. She hit her. In the face – with a pillow.

More from surprise than anything else Hermione yelped, "What was that for?"

Ginny glared at her. "For being stupid. You know right well you're pretty – so I don't want to hear any more of this." Suddenly looking elated, she clapped her hands and said, "Oh Hermione, you looked so wonderful. You should have _seen_ Malfoy's face – it was a picture."

Hermione sniffled. "Really?"

"Yeah. You looked amazing … Did you have a good time?"

Slowly Hermione nodded. "Yeah," she said, "He's really nice – and we danced and everything and …"

She couldn't keep herself from flushing deeply, and Ginny bounced on her bed, saying, "Come on, now I know it's good."

Hermione stared very hard at Ginny's blanket, searching desperately for the right words, "Well, em, he … he sort of … I mean not in a bad way, but … He kissed me."

Ginny grinned at Hermione, saying, "That's brilliant – I mean … What was it like?"

Hermione found herself fidgeting with her skirt as she said, "It was … nice. I liked it, I mean … Ginny?"

By now her voice sounded so miserable that Ginny looked truly worried. "He didn't get grabby, did he? Cause if he did, Hermione, I'll … doesn't matter if he is a Champion."

Hermione shook her head sharply, "No – he was a perfect gentleman. I just, I kept wishing … that it was Ron."

She dashed a few rebel tears from her eyes roughly, and looked down at the blanket again. She didn't want to meet Ginny's eyes, and she was surprised when Ginny wrapped her arms around her. It felt good, and she buried her face in Ginny's neck for a moment, letting a few more tears leak out.

Finally she recovered herself enough to say, "This is so stupid – it was my first kiss. I should be excited, I shouldn't have been thinking about …"

"You can think whatever you want to think Hermione; there's no rules."

"Yeah but … There must be something wrong with me Ginny, I mean, Viktor is so nice, and everything and yet … I like Ron. That's just stupid."

Ginny giggled, much to Hermione's chagrin. "What?"

"Well, it's just, 'his eyes are as green as a fresh-pickled toad'? Fancying someone can make you stupid. Believe me, I know. And if you keep this up I'll hit you with the pillow again."

"Okay, okay." Hermione couldn't quite contain a laugh, though she still felt rather overwrought. Determined to get it all off her chest she said, "I told him you know."

"Really? What did you say? And you know, if you told him, and he didn't sweep you up immediately and kiss you, then sod him."

Ginny's vehemence was slightly off-putting, and Hermione said, "He is your brother you know."

"My brother who offered me to Harry like an unwanted pet. I'm not feeling very loving at the moment."

Hermione saw the unhappy look crossing her friend's regular features and said, "What did Harry do?"

Ginny shrugged, though she looked extremely miserable. "Nothing – just sat there. Didn't even say a word." She actually had to swallow a sob at the end, and Hermione put an arm around her. "I'm the stupid one Hermione."

"How was it with Neville?"

Ginny managed a smile. "It was great – you know Neville, he's a sweetheart. Well, he had to go up to the Hospital Wing for a bit in the middle, but it all worked out."

A brief impression from the evening flitted back to the forefront of Hermione's mind, and she said, "Yeah – I thought I saw you dancing with Cedric Diggory, or was I just going mad?"

Ginny shook her head. "No – I did, for a bit. He's really nice – he introduced me to some Ravenclaws in your year." Her voice was suddenly nonchalant as she said, "Do you know Michael Corner?"

Hermione looked at her suspiciously. "The one with overly long dark hair – always bellowing away at the Quidditch matches? Good at Potions?"

"Well, I don't know about the last one, but … yeah, I think so."

Hermione nodded, watching her friend carefully, but Ginny seemed completely relaxed – whereas, whenever she spoke about Harry her entire body seemed to tense.

"It's just, I got talking to him, and … he seems pretty nice."

"Yeah," Hermione said, desperately trying to remember any defining personality traits of Michael Corner's. "He's a nice guy."

"Yeah – I think so, anyway, not that it matters. I'll probably never see him again."

"Maybe …" Hermione was thoughtful; there was something she'd been meaning to say to Ginny for a couple of weeks now, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity, but … She sensed Ginny was still too overexcited for it to sink in.

"Anyway," Ginny said, shaking her long hair out down her back, "What did you say to Ron?"

"Oh," Hermione said, "I just told him that … if he hated Viktor asking me out so much, _he_ should ask me next time."

Ginny gaped at her and said, "Go Hermione!" She laughed as if from shock. "What did he say?"

Hermione felt suddenly sheepish. "I don't know – that's when I came running up here. How am I going to face him tomorrow Ginny?"

"With perfect dignity and composure, as you always do."

"Yeah right. I'm perfect nothing."

"I don't Hermione – I used to be so jealous of you, cause, the way you carry yourself, it doesn't seem like you're afraid of anything … I wish I could be like that." Ginny's voice was wistful, and even though Hermione knew just how wrong she was, she couldn't help but be flattered.

"That's not true Ginny; but thanks."

Ginny grinned. "Sure – what are friends for?"

Hermione giggled, "Shouting at in the common room apparently."

They both laughed at that, and it was several moments before Ginny said, "It'll be though – trust me."

Hermione shrugged. "I hope so."

"And I know so – so there." Ginny looked around her, and something seemed to strike her. "You know – all my dorm-mates are gone so, if you wanted to … I'm sure Louise wouldn't mind if you slept in her bed."

"Really?"

Ginny nodded vigorously. "Yeah – and, I want to hear more about the Ball."

Hermione nodded, deep in thought. "Right … right. I'll just – get my toothbrush."

Ginny clapped her hands, bouncing where she sat on the bed. "Great! Mum never let me have slumber parties – I think I have some Chocolate Frogs round here somewhere."

As she swung her head over the side of her four-poster, Hermione made her way to the door. She was called up short by Ginny saying, "And Hermione, could you bring Crookshanks? I really like him."


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Hermione walked briskly down the Hall, and sat down heavily, across from Ginny. Ron and Harry were discussing possible predictions for Divination, and since she really wasn't in the mood to hear about Trelawney, she'd decided to find her other friend. Her inability to find anything helpful for the Second Task was frustrating enough without having to listen to Ron evade his homework for the umpteenth time.

She'd expected Ginny to look pleased to see her, perhaps even crack a joke about the amount of time she'd been spending in the library lately, but Ginny just nodded at her. In fact, looking closer, Hermione thought she looked rather dejected, her shoulders uncharacteristically slumped. It was most unusual to see Ginny alone – usually she was surrounded by a crowd of girls, or at least Jules and Louise, two Gryffindors in third year, yet today she sat by herself.

She sighed disconsolately and Hermione plucked up the courage to say, "What's the matter?"

Ginny shrugged. "Oh… nothing. It's just…. We had a test on boggarts today – he wanted to make sure we still remembered."

Her face was oddly tight, as though she was holding it set against any expression, and Hermione venture to say, "And did you?"

Ginny laughed, the sound harsh, "As if I could forget."

Hermione stared at her, at a loss for words. She hated it when this side of Ginny came out, partly because she honestly had no idea how to deal with it, but also because it made her so sad. She liked that Ginny was usually so cheerful and funny, and on those occasions when an old sorrow flashed to the surface it always seemed profoundly wrong – Ginny, Hermione had always felt, not without a touch of resentment, was made for happiness.

Leaning over her soup bowl, Hermione said urgently, "Ginny, what do you see?"

The noise of the great hall seemed to fade away as Ginny said slowly, "I see… _him_. Every time. And…" she took a deep breath, and said, "And he says I'm _his_, and I always will be, and that no one is coming for me, because I belong to him, _forever_, and it's all my fault."

She looked near tears, and Hermione stared at her. She didn't know what to say, what to do – it was all too deep for her. Finding her voice, Hermione said, "But, Ginny, Harry did come for you; he was wrong."

Ginny choked on a sob as she said, "It's just, I thought I was doing _better._"

Hermione stared. "Aren't you?"

And it was true – as far as she could tell, Ginny was doing fine. She wasn't nearly as jumpy or as unsure as she'd been the year before, and she seemed to have come out of her shell a lot – except when she was around Harry. Hermione felt rather dull in comparison.

Struggling for words, she added, "It's just, you usually seem fine to me."

Ginny sighed. "Seem – I don't know. Maybe I am. I just hate Boggarts."

Hermione nodded, she hoped wisely. Everything this year was so confusing she thought as she looked down to where Ron sat, and felt that now familiar, and dizzying rush of… affection, or perhaps it was something else. He really needed to cut his hair.

Ginny picked at her food, and said, "Hermione? Do you think I'm pretty?"

Something in her softened at this, though a wicked imp prompted her to say, "Do I need to hit you with a pillow?"

Ginny looked sad and said, "No, I mean it. Look at Cho Chang – her hair is always so perfect, and she has nice robes, and I'm just…"

Hermione was about to scoff, when she saw Fleur swinging her hair around as she walked to the Ravenclaw table, and remembered how unhappy she'd felt that no matter how nice she was to Ron, or how much time she spent with him, or how much help she graciously gave him, none of it would matter if Fleur so much as blinked at him, and all because she was _beautiful_. Because _beautiful_ it seemed, was all that mattered in the longer run, not kindness or brains or a sense of humour, but stupid looks which you couldn't even control.

Still, Ginny was being stupid, and as there was no pillow to hand, Hermione would have to settle for the next best thing. She'd been eating a roll, and the hard, crusty end was still left on her plate – taking careful aim, she flung it at Ginny's head.

Unfortunately, Ginny chose that moment to lean over and pour herself a cup of pumpkin juice, and the bread, most unluckily, went down her top. Her eyes bugged in surprise, and she stared at Hermione, clearly horrified.

"Sorry," Hermione said, slightly ashamed, "But…you're being stupid."

"Am I now."

"Yeah – you are. First of all, your robes are fine. Second, you have great hair, and I don't where you got the idea that you didn't, and thirdly, just shut up."

Silence fell between them for a moment, and then Ginny said, "You're a bit scary – do you know that?"

Hermione shrugged. "Does it work?"

Ginny nodded. "Yeah – it kind of does. Well, that and knowing that you're never wrong. It's not really fair."

At that moment, a girl with dreamy looking eyes and far more hair-ribbons than seemed necessary joined them. She handed a note to Ginny, saying, "Professor Sinistra asked me to give you this."

Ginny smiled, and said, "Thanks Luna – do you want to join us?"

The blonde girl shook her head and said, "No, thank you Ginny. I've to finish my necklace."

Ginny nodded, and said, "Well, good luck Luna. I'll see you later."

After she had left Ginny bent to read the note, and Hermione said, "Who was that?"

Ginny flicked her hair over her shoulder and said, "Haven't you ever heard of Loony Lovegood?"

Hermione nodded – the name did sound familiar. Ginny continued, "I feel a bit sorry for her to be honest. I mean, she's a bit cracked and all, but the others, they say horrible things to her… And she's quite nice really."

Hermione wasn't particularly interested in this and said, "What's the note about?"

"Oh," Ginny flushed, "Well, you know I like astronomy?"

"Yeah."

"Well, my telescope… it isn't very good you see, and I've been saving up for a new one, only they're really expensive, and …the school's getting a refit, and Professor Sinistra just got permission for me to buy one second-hand."

Ginny looked a little flushed, but also very excited, and Hermione understood it all too well. There was a certain thrill or spurt that came when she got the chance to pursue knowledge that fascinated her, and she could see a reflection of it in Ginny's eyes, though Ginny was hardly academic.

Checking her watch, Hermione realised that more than half of the lunch hour had elapsed, and she had yet to get to the library. Standing up quickly, she said, "Look, I've got to go – it's for Harry, otherwise … but I'll see you later, okay?"

Ginny nodded, and Hermione thought she looked rather more cheerful than she had earlier on.

"Good luck."

Hermione practically ran for the library – she really shouldn't have been dallying with only a week to go till the Second Task, but she spared a moment to look back and see Ginny talking animatedly to Michael Corner, who had just joined her. This could only be good.


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Hermione heard Ginny swear loudly where she was sitting, down by the Common Room fire. A moment later she saw a roll of parchment flying over Ginny's shoulder, followed by an inkwell, two large textbooks and a miniature Quaffle.

As Hermione sat down she had to dodge a rather battered quill that Ginny tossed away with a moan of displeasure. She put her head in her hands and shook her hair out dramatically. "Don't talk to me," she said.

"Why? What did I do?"

"It's all your fault, Hermione!" Ginny pointed at her accusingly. "I wouldn't even be doing this class if it wasn't for you. I must have been mad – I mean, Percy said it was a good idea. _Percy_!"

Hermione crossed her legs, Indian style, checking that her skirt covered everything that needed to be covered – Ron was sitting on the sofa only a few feet away – and said, "What's the problem."

"It's this blasted Runes translation – it's impossible Hermione! There are about five different tenses, and six different subjects, and I'm not even good." She shook her head, and thrust the exercise at Hermione. "Look at it," she said, "It just doesn't make sense."

Hermione scanned the page; it only took her a moment to recognise it from the year before. "It's not supposed to," she said. "It's a trick – it's untranslatable."

Ginny stared. "What!" She sputtered incoherently for a moment or two, before saying, "That's just _mean_."

Hermione smiled reassuringly. "Well," she said, "Professor Hardcastle can be difficult like that."

Ginny uncurled like a cat, sitting up straight and saying, "Oh well, thanks for telling me. That's all of it done now. Did you see where I threw that Quaffle?"

Hermione blinked, but she spied the red ball by the poker and handed it back to Ginny, saying, "I think you missed."

Ginny shrugged. "I wasn't exactly aiming – I'm much better than that usually."

"You like Quidditch?"

Ginny stared at her. "Don't you?"

"Yeah… I suppose." In truth, Hermione could take it or leave it, but Ginny looked so scandalised that she thought she'd leave that revelation for later.

Ginny curled her legs under her and said, "Well, yeah, I like Quidditch. I love it actually, so… anyway, I mentioned it to Michael, and he gave me that."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Oh _did_ he?"

Ginny looked quizzical. "Yeah. He said he got it in one of his crackers at Christmas."

"Oh."

Shouting broke out behind them as Fred and George started a game of Exploding Snap with Harry and Ron. Hermione was glad – if Ginny thought there was any possibility of someone hearing she'd clam up immediately.

Ginny looked irritated and said, "What's your point?"

"Ginny, have you ever thought that Michael might like you?"

Ginny gave an odd-little half laugh and said, "Of course he does – we're friends."

"No, I mean _like_ you."

Ginny had an odd expression on her face, as though she thought Hermione was telling a not particularly funny joke. "Don't be stupid Hermione."

"I'm not being stupid."

"Why would Michael like me?"

"Well, you are pretty Ginny, and you spend a lot of time together…"

"So...?"

"So – put two and two together."

"I think you're getting six," Ginny said, folding her arms with a stubborn set of her jaw, "I'm just 'the Littlest Weasley.'"

"You don't want to be as tall as Ron."

"Yeah, but… do you really think he might?" There was an odd tone in Ginny's voice, and Hermione could see that her eyes were shining, and suddenly there was something rather familiar about the whole thing.

"Of course he would," she said reassuringly, "It just shows he has good taste."

Ginny looked confused. "But… should I do something? I mean, I don't… I still…"

She looked as though the words were causing her actual pain, and Hermione said, thinking very carefully. "I think it would be a good idea."

She didn't want to offend Ginny, but she'd been meaning to say this for a few months now, and the right wording was hard to find. "I think," she said, "It'd be good for you. You know, good for the confidence and all that. I should know."

"Yeah, but, if I know I like someone else then… isn't that a bit?"

Hermione bit her lip – she'd really hoped it wouldn't come to this. "The thing is Ginny – Harry likes Cho, and, since you get so…"

"Nervous," Ginny interjected, a morose expression on her pretty face.

"Yeah – around him, he's never going to…pay attention. I mean, if he saw what you're really like then of course he'd… but at the moment."

"I'm that girl who blushes you mean?"

"Yeah. So, why not see what else is out there? It'd be fun."

Ginny nodded. "You're probably right," she said.

She seemed thoughtful; and worried, Hermione said, "You're not angry with me?"

Ginny shook her head hurriedly, "No! No. Just, can I think about it? I'm not… I mean, you are probably right, it's just…"

Her voice trailed off and Hermione reflected that she was quite right – it was never easy to give up hope, there was always that niggling hope that somehow he would see the light, even though he spent all his time staring at Quarter-Veela's and getting angry over Viktor…

They had been silent for nearly a minute, and in an attempt to break the silence Hermione said, "I don't even like Cho."

Ginny burst out laughing. "Liar," she said, "You don't even know her."

"I still don't like her. She's not nearly as nice as you."

Still giggling, Ginny hugged her quickly. "I love you, Hermione," she said.

It took a moment for Ginny to calm herself, and Hermione said, "So, Quidditch?"

"Yeah. I think I might try out for Chaser in fifth year – you know, when Angelina's gone."

"Really, you like it that much?"

"Oh yeah." Ginny was emphatic.

"But, how come you never played with the boys?"

"They would have had to let me – and Mum always thought they were too rough, so…"

"So how did you learn?"

Ginny flicked her hair over her shoulders nonchalantly. "Oh, I borrowed their brooms when they weren't looking – which is a lot. There are some advantages to being the baby sister nobody notices."

Hermione was awestruck – she'd taken flying lessons of course, everyone had, but perhaps her hand-eye coordination was off, or maybe she just didn't like heights, but she'd never been able to muster up much passion for flying. "How long have you been doing this?" she asked.

"Since I was six."

"_Six_!"

"Yeah."

"But you must have been about three foot nothing."

"Four foot nothing actually," Ginny said, "And it's not as if I'm all that tall now is it?"

"On adult brooms? You're out of your mind."

Ginny grinned. "Fun isn't it." After a moment she added, "How are things with Viktor?"

Hermione opened her mouth to say that things were absolutely wonderful, that he was sweet and gentlemanly and romantic, but the words stuck in her throat.

"Things are…odd," she confessed. "I mean, after the lake, and what he said… you remember what he said?"

"Yeah – of course."

"Well, I kept thinking that… something would happen, and I'd feel the exact same way and he'd be all I could think about but… it just doesn't. He's nice, and clever, and I'm nice…"

"And clever," Ginny said.

"Yeah – and we're nice and clever together. There's no…" Her voice trailed off – she didn't know exactly what it was she wanted to say, only that it was the feeling she got every time she looked at Ron.

"He doesn't argue with you," Ginny supplied helpfully.

"Yeah," Hermione said, stretching the word out as she pondered Ginny's words. "Do you really think that could be it?"

"Well, it's what Jules says."

"You've been talking to Jules about Viktor?" She couldn't quite keep a trace of anger from her tone.

"No. And thanks for the trust Hermione – what I was going to say is, she's a bit like you – not as clever, but… anyway, Colin fancies her, but she's not interested, 'cause he just follows her around and agrees with everything she says, and Jules needs someone who'll challenge her a bit, you know."

"Having Colin fancy you would be a challenge all right."

"Hermione!" Ginny said, "Don't be mean. Colin's not so bad really – he's just a bit… enthusiastic. He can't help it."

"Yeah I know." Hermione stretched her arms over her head and said, "What are you doing today?"

Ginny opened her mouth to speak when Ron said, "Hermione! Come on – we're going down to Hagrid's"

She was about to glare at him for being so rude – they were in the middle of a conversation, and it wasn't exactly nice to exclude Ginny like that – when Harry said, "Do you want to come Ginny?" At least he had some manners.

Ginny stood up however, and grinning at Hermione said, "Not today – I've to meet a friend."

Harry shrugged – clearly not caring much one way or the other – and Ginny added, in a tone only Hermione could hear, "Michael asked me and Louise to go flying with his group."

Hermione clapped her hands and said, "That's wonderful! I'll see you later then … and, tell me what happens."

Ginny nodded and, eyes sparkling, made her way out of the Portrait Hole. Smiling, Hermione managed to convince Ron that she needed to get her coat, before she too left.


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Hermione squeezed her hands between her knees – Harry had just entered the maze. She knew it was ridiculous to be nervous – it certainly wasn't as if Harry had never dealt with magical challenges before; he'd taken on a dragon for heaven's sake!

But… still. Hermione knew she'd be infinitely happier when Harry was safely out of the maze and this whole tournament was over and done with. She'd never anticipated that it would cause so much trouble, or throw up so many difficult feelings. She'd spent the last few weeks tossing the question of Bulgaria around in her mind; it had taken a long time to summon up the courage to tell Viktor she wasn't going to go.

He was just so _nice_ – Hermione thought he might well be the nicest person she'd ever met, even if he could never say her name properly. It was just…he bored her. There was no getting around the bare fact of the matter – Viktor was lovely, but it was so hard to keep a simple conversation going, and then there was…Ron.

Every time she was with Viktor she couldn't help but compare him to her best friend; he didn't make her laugh, or tease her, or deliberately start arguments with her just for the fun of it, or yank her away from her schoolbooks and insist that she improve her chess technique by letting him beat her. He just wasn't Ron.

And that might have been fine, if they'd only been having fun, going on the occasional trip to Hogsmeade and stealing kisses – Hermione had to admit, she _liked_ being kissed by Viktor, even if it did make her nervous sometimes. He was so much older, and she was never entirely sure of herself when it came to kissing him – what might he expect? Of course, he was a perfect gentleman and all that, and he seemed to feel something genuine for her, but… He still wasn't Ron.

Perhaps, though, in retrospect, telling him the day of the final task had been unnecessarily cruel. At the least it had added to her already strong sense guilt at not liking him back – Hermione didn't want to assume it had affected his concentration, if only because she didn't want it to be her fault if he came out battered and bruised.

Ron was arguing with the twins just behind her, and Hermione realised with a jolt that she was squeezing her hands so hard she was actually hurting herself. Shaking her head, she unclenched her knees, slipping her arms around her waist instead. They'd been in the maze for at least ten minutes already.

Hermione was about to start chewing on her fingernails, when Ginny joined her. She'd been sitting with her Mum, but Mrs Weasley had got involved in mediating the dispute between her sons. Ginny sat down with a grin. "Feeling okay?" she asked sympathetically.

Hermione snorted. "If I say no, will you laugh at me?"

Ginny shook her head. "No; I've been through this before remember – the second task."

"It was like this?"

Ginny shrugged. "Worse, I think…'cause it was you _and_ Ron _and _Harry, under water."

Hermione sighed; she didn't see why it had to take so long. Ginny nudged her with a shoulder and said, "Lean in a bit."

"Why?"

"I've something to tell you," Ginny muttered, "And I don't want the twins to hear."

Hermione couldn't quite restrain a knowing smile, and Ginny blushed. Shoving her hair over one shoulder, Hermione leaned close and said, "So?"

Ginny's face was shining, and she said, "Michael kissed me."

Hermione couldn't help herself – she clapped her hands, burbling, "I'm so _happy_ for you, Ginny! When did it happen – was it good?"

Ginny kept nodding her head as she said, "About a week ago…"

"A week ago!" Hermione squealed, unable to contain her displeasure. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Ginny stared at her. "You've been a bit hard to find Hermione – and I wasn't exactly going to tell you in front of Ron…_or_ Harry."

"Oh, of course. Sorry, it's just…"

"I know – it's fine. I imagine life can be hard when your best friend's a Champion."

Hermione sighed. "You have no idea."

For a moment she thought she saw an odd expression cloud Ginny's face, but the impression was gone almost before it registered. Hermione dragged her mind back to the subject at hand, barely registering the announcement that Fleur had withdrawn from the competition as she said, "So, was it...?"

Ginny nodded. "Yeah – it was. I mean, I always thought the tongue thing sounded kind of disgusting but actually…"

"Ginny!"

"What?"

"You can't talk about it…like that."

Ginny looked confused. "Why not?"

"Because it's not…nice." Even as she said it Hermione knew it was a feeble excuse.

Ginny shrugged, lifting her chin defiantly. "I don't see why not," she said, "I mean, it happens, doesn't it? I mean, Viktor does, right?"

Hermione felt as if her face might melt, she was so embarrassed, "Yes, he does, I just… don't want to talk about it. It's private."

Ginny's face was blank. "But, why?" she said, "Me and Louise and Jules talk about this stuff all the time – how else would we learn?"

"Learn what? It's just kissing!"

"There's no need to get angry. I mean, didn't you ever wonder about where your noses would go, and what if he wears glasses...?" Ginny seemed to catch herself upon these words, and continued briskly, "Or is a lot taller, or has, I don't know, a beard or something."

Hermione stared. "Not really – maybe a little, but… it just feels strange to talk about it."

Ginny looked at her, something vaguely pitying in her gaze, and said, "Hermione all your friends are boys – one of whom hasn't realised yet that you're his future wife, and…Harry thinks you're his big sister."

Hermione felt something warm spurt in her heart at the second thing – she knew the first was outright nonsense – and said, "Do you really think so?"

"Of course I do – I think it's really great – some people can never be friends with the opposite sex. Like Charlie – I don't think he's ever had a female friend in his life."

Hermione stared out at the maze, just in time to see something shoot up into the sky. Still trying to figure out what it was, she said, "So, was it just a kiss, or…"

Ginny nodded sharply. "We're going out together – he asked me yesterday. But you mustn't tell Ron – he'll…lose it completely."

Distracted, Hermione said, "I won't… I broke up with Viktor today. Do you think the Cup's a Portkey?"

"Why?"

"Well, I just saw something that I think…maybe…"

"Why'd you break it off with him, Hermione?" Ginny said, a trifle impatiently.

"It just wasn't…anything really. Don't tell me you didn't see it coming… It doesn't make any sense, Ginny – Harry never said anything about…"

"Maybe he didn't know?" Ginny offered hopefully, though Hermione could see she was beginning to feel nervous as well. Dumbledore and McGonagall were engaged in a conference below, and Hermione thought their expressions were rather foreboding.

Gradually, her unease seemed to spread throughout the stands, as more people became aware that everything hadn't gone to plan. By the time the Portkey flashed back down to the ground, all of them were standing up, and Hermione couldn't help but whisper, "Something's not right, something's gone wrong."

She saw Moody walking away from the pitch with someone in tow, a short dark-haired someone, as a sudden cry went up around the stands. Hermione saw Mrs Weasley blanche, as someone in front of them said that one of the Champions had been killed.

Fear seized her own gut as Ginny gasped, and said, "It's not him, Hermione, it _can't_ be him."

She hardly heard herself speak, thinking 'Harry, Harry', over and over again. "We have to get down from here."

It took them nearly fifteen minutes to get down, and Professor Flitwick was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. Hermione shrank back against Ron when she saw the look on his face, but he spoke quickly, guiding them up to the castle. "Mr Potter is…fine; he's on his way to the hospital wing."

Ginny asked the question on all their minds. "Sir, what happened?"

Flitwick shook his head, looking suddenly much older than before, and said, "Mr Diggory is dead – that is all we know."

Ginny gave another little gasp, and Hermione saw her screw up her mouth in an attempt to control tears, as Flitwick said, "Miss Granger, Mr Weasley, if you could accompany me? And Dumbledore asked for you, Molly, and Bill."

Hermione didn't want to think about what all this meant, about Cedric Diggory, brave, kind Cedric Diggory being dead, but she trotted after Flitwick as quickly as possible. Ginny followed her, and Hermione was about to tell her to go back to the dormitory, when Ginny said, "Should I get his things?"

"What?"

"I don't know…a toothbrush, pyjamas? I have to do _something_, Hermione."

"Okay – Dean or Neville or someone will know."

Ginny nodded, tears leaving sticky marks on her cheeks, "And you'll tell me; if anything…if he's all right?"

"Of course I will."

And with that Ginny broke into a run, racing for Gryffindor tower like a woman possessed.


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine 

"I don't know," Ginny said, "I'm not sure Harry would want it."

"Why wouldn't he want to be a Prefect – it's a position of authority, and…it's Harry. Who else could it be?"

Ginny, bust trying out new hairstyles in the mirror, said, "Ron'd like it – you know he would. I think Harry would care more about _not_ getting it, to be honest."

"Yeah," Hermione said, staring at her hands. Their bedroom was extremely sparse, and she still wasn't entirely certain why she'd allowed Ginny to convince to attempt a 'make-over', but it definitely beat cleaning up after Doxies. Hermione didn't really like Grimmauld Place – it was too grim and dark – but it was worth it to be with the Weasleys. She didn't know how Harry had managed all those weeks with only the horrible Dursleys and the _Prophet_.

Thinking of Harry, Hermione sighed. "He's just so _angry_ all the time," she said. "The first night he was here – you can't imagine, Ginny."

Ginny snorted. "Can't imagine? Hermione, there were people in _Norway_ who had a fairly good idea what he was saying."

"Yeah," Hermione said, still chewing on the inside of her lip. There was something about Harry when he was angry that – she wasn't scared of him, obviously, people didn't get scared of their best friends, but – it wasn't like with Ron. Ron would roar and bluster and break small items occasionally, but…it just wasn't the same.

Ginny seemed to sense her discomfort, for she came to sit beside Hermione on the bed. "It's not that surprising, really," she said. "After what he's seen, whatever You-Know-Who did… He probably thinks it's his fault."

"That's ridiculous."

"Why?"

"Because…it wasn't Harry who used a Killing Curse – it wasn't Harry who cut his own arm open…"

"We know that," Ginny said, "But I bet Harry doesn't. You don't know what _he's_ like, Hermione – he gets into your head; he makes you think things that aren't true."

Ginny's face had that horribly tight look again, and Hermione felt that awful gap in her knowledge once again. She'd read all about Voldemort, in all kinds of history books and personal accounts, but none of it chilled her as much as Ginny saying, in that slightly deadened tone, "And the worst thing is, you can't stop him, you just can't. You know it's false and wrong and awful, but it's still…there, and there's no getting rid of it."

Hermione stared at her friend – all her words seemed stuck to her tongue. Ginny's face seemed twenty years older as she said, "Hermione, can I tell you something?"

She nodded instantly. "Of course. Anything."

Ginny sniffed and stood. She paced the room for several seconds before sitting on a small stool, a few feet from Hermione. Hugging her knees, she said, "I haven't told _anyone_ this…not even Mum, not even Bill – they couldn't handle it, and I don't know, maybe you can't either, but…I have to tell someone, Hermione, I have to!"

By this stage, Ginny seemed close to tears, and Hermione struggled for words. "It's okay, Ginny. Whatever it is, you can tell me, really."

Ginny nodded, her hair swinging past her chin. Staring at the floor, she said, in a whisper, "Michael wasn't my first kiss."

This was not quite what Hermione had been nerving herself to hear. "Not Neville?" She asked, inwardly aghast at the very idea of Neville and Ginny…ever…

Ginny gave a strange half-laugh, and said, "No. I wish that was what… Hermione, I don't know how to say this."

Hermione got off the bed and hunkered down beside Ginny, resting one hand on her knee, and said, "I'm here – just say what you can think of."

Ginny nodded, still staring into the distance. It was a long moment, during which Hermione heard Mrs Black shouting downstairs, before Ginny said, "It was…in first year."

Something in Hermione came to a sudden halt when she heard those words. She noticed that Ginny's fingernails were digging into her arms where she'd clasped her hands.

Ginny sucked in a breath, and said, "When he… When Tom Riddle took me down there, he said, he said that…since I was going to die, no one was ever going to kiss me – Harry was never going to kiss me – but…" Ginny's voice surged suddenly with hatred, "Since I was 'such a pretty girl', he didn't think it was right for it to happen that way, so…" She drew breath, looking at Hermione for the first time, and said, "When he came the diary, he wasn't…it wasn't like a person exactly, but…he came towards me, and then…I felt it, Hermione."

Hermione didn't want to know what had happened, didn't want to think about Ginny, so tiny in that dark room, with the most evil wizard of all time, but…Ginny needed to say it. "What happened?" she asked.

A solitary tear feel down Ginny's cheek as she said, "He put his hands in my hair, like this, and I could him, his fingers pressing into me, and then he kissed me. I mean, properly, not some peck, and…that's the last thing I remember."

Hermione felt sick. She wanted to rush out the bathroom and wash her face, or break a window, or fall down the stairs, or something, because this, this was just horrible. Somehow she managed to say, "What happened then?"

Ginny shrugged. "I don't know – the next thing I remember is waking up, and Harry coming towards me. He was covered in blood."

The two of them sat in silence for a moment, and then Ginny said, "Hermione, do you think I'm disgusting?"

"No! No! No, Ginny, don't say that. Don't ever say that."

Hermione stared at her friend, stared at her hard, and said, "Ginny, you had something terrible happen to you, that's all. That's all it is – it's not you, do you understand me?"

Ginny's creased up, and she started to cry in earnest. Hermione wrapped her arms around her, and hugged her as hard as she possibly could. It wasn't right that these kinds of things could happen, it wasn't right for anyone to make Ginny think those kinds of thoughts.

Eventually, Ginny stopped crying, and Hermione handed her a tissue. "Maybe," she said, "We should go downstairs. Sirius makes great hot chocolate."

Ginny sniffled. "Hot chocolate would be really nice."

Hermione touched her on the shoulder affectionately. "Will we go down then?" she said.

Ginny nodded, and they made their way downstairs. Rain spattered the windows, and there was a fire burning in the grate, and the two girls sat down to watch Harry and Ron play a game of chess. From a certain shrewd glance Sirius sent Hermione, she rather thought he guessed Ginny had been crying.

But he didn't do anything – or at least not anything much. He glanced at Harry, who seemed to understand instantly – a moment later he asked Ginny for advice about his Bishop. As Ginny wasn't particularly good at chess, he still lost, but by the end Ginny was laughing and smiling again. Knowing Harry, he probably wasn't even aware that he'd cheered her up so magnificently, but that it was just his way – Hermione had seen him do the same thing for Neville several times. As she watched them laughing, and took a deep sip of her hot chocolate, Hermione was glad to be reminded that, even at their lowest, her friends could be wonderful.


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Hermione glared at Ginny. "Stop laughing!"

"What?" Ginny said, nearly spitting out her pumpkin juice. "You know it's funny."

"It. Is. Not." Hermione said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, come on," Ginny said, "You are getting better you know. I thought Mum was going to go mad, watching you over the summer."

Hermione glanced down at her knitting needles. "Why?"

"Oh, you know Mum – she's been knitting for years. I could just see that look in her eye – all she wanted was to take it from you and do it herself."

Ginny was attempting to tie off a friendship bracelet as she spoke – friendship bracelets had become something of a craze among the fourth year girls – and Hermione couldn't help but wonder who she was making it for. All the girls in Ginny's year already sported three or four to a wrist.

Ron and Harry were sitting across the room, clearly making heavy work of their essays. They looked so unhappy that Hermione almost wanted to go over and help them – or at least she would have, if they hadn't wasted all their time over the weekend. Besides which, she'd barely had a chance to talk to Ginny all week, and for that one reason, she wasn't going to stir out of her seat – no matter how many times Harry would look at the pair of them wistfully.

"So," she said, "Have you seen Michael?"

Ginny nodded, somewhat absently. "Yeah – I had lunch with him and his friends the other day. Blue is your favourite colour, right?"

"Yes. How is he?"

"Oh, he's fine, " Ginny said dismissively. "Panicking a bit about the OWLs, typical Ravenclaw, you know."

She really seemed quite distracted, and Hermione realised she would have to ask the question straight out if she ever wanted to know. "Was he annoyed you didn't meet him on the train?"

Ginny laughed shortly. "Honestly, Hermione? I think he was relieved. He doesn't know what to do with a girlfriend – I think he thought I'd want a bunch of flowers, or…a sonnet, or something."

Hermione couldn't help herself. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No – no, it's just…we've going out a month really, so… did Viktor act like that?"

"No. Mind you, I don't think his English was good enough to write poetry."

Ginny shook her head. "Well…I don't want any sonnets – not from anyone."

Hermione stared. "Ever?"

"No. It's ridiculous, Hermione, that's what it is. Most of the boys I know can't tell their arse from their elbow, let alone write _poetry_."

There was an odd tone in Ginny's voice, and Hermione couldn't resist the opportunity to say, "You're very cynical all of a sudden."

Ginny glanced at her sharply, but Hermione didn't continue. Eventually, Ginny sighed and shrugged her shoulders – "You really don't miss anything, do you?"

Hermione thought for a moment, then nodded, making Ginny laugh. "What happened?"

"Oh…nothing, nothing really. Cho Chang came over to me, while I was talking to Michael."

"Okay…"

Ginny sighed deeply. "It's not important…she just wanted to know 'all about Harry' and how he is, and what he likes…and…"

Hermione couldn't even imagine what that would feel like. "I'm sorry, Ginny," she said.

"It's fine…you know, just because… I don't _care_, Hermione."

Ginny might have been a good actress, but she wasn't that good…still, Hermione decided that this was one façade she actually needed, and let it lie. There was a moment's silence and Hermione said, "Does Michael know you were with Harry on the train?"

Ginny shrugged. "I don't know – it's not like it'd matter." Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Ginny, I hope you don't mind me asking, but…why did you go with him?"

Ginny looked deeply uncomfortable, and went back to work on her bracelet as she said, "Sirius asked me to."

Hermione looked around hurriedly, but no one seemed to have heard them. She was about to glare at Ginny, when the younger girl continued, "And…I said I would, not that…but then he just looked so sad, Hermione."

Hermione noticed Harry watching them again, and gestured sharply at him to get back to work. He shrugged and got back to work, but she could see him glancing across the room every few minutes – thankfully Ginny wasn't looking his direction. Ginny continued speaking, "And you know, Siri…Snuffles was worried about him, and…"

Hermione smiled. "You get on well with him don't you."

Ginny nodded thoughtfully. "He reminds me of the twins a bit…only, I bet Snuffles was good-looking in school."

"What!" Hermione's voice was so loud that both Ron and Harry glared at her for disturbing their work (an irony she scarcely had time to appreciate.) "You think Snuffles is good-looking?"

Ginny seemed confused. "Well…not now, 'cause, old enough to be my father and that's kind of disgusting but, when he was younger, yeah, probably."

"But…but…but that's Harry's…"

"So? Just think about it for a second – when he was our age."

Hermione made a face. "I don't want to," she said, "It's disturbing. I'd never be able to look him in the face again."

Ginny started to laugh at this comment, and finally Hermione had to ask. "What?"

"It's just…Lockhart, Hermione? He was your teacher."

"That's not fair," Hermione said. "I was a little girl."

Ginny shrugged mournfully. "I'm still a little girl."

Hermione touched her shoulder affectionately. "Always, and forever."

Ginny laughed shortly and tied off the friendship bracelet at long last. "You know," she said, chewing on the inside of her lip, "I think it's good that Cho wants to…that she believes Harry."

Ginny turned her head to look at him for a moment; Harry was running his hands through his hair as he conversed with Ron in a tone of low desperation. "It's just," she said, "I get the feeling…this year's not going to be easy."

Hermione wanted to hug her – it was one thing for Ginny to go out with Michael, another entirely for her to be supportive of Harry and Cho. She started to say, "You're a good friend…"

But Ginny interrupted her, saying, "And if you're going to be starting fights with everyone else."

"Oh come on – you said yourself Luna's ridiculous."

Ginny sighed. "But she doesn't know that, Hermione. And, she means well. We can't all be sane – the world would get boring."

"But it's not like we're even…"

"It's just," Ginny said, "She gets it enough from everyone in my year already – I thought you wouldn't… I know she can be annoying, but…"

"Yeah, yeah," Hermione said, though inside she felt a trace of guilt. Ginny smiled at her, and stretched her arms over her head. Hermione noticed Harry staring again and glared at him fiercely, knowing this was yet another moment that neither of them would ever mention. Even if Ginny was wearing a v-neck tee shirt, it was no excuse for Harry to…

Ginny yawned and said, "I'd better go upstairs. I promised Jules I'd help her curl her hair."

Hermione smiled. "Does she still fancy Seamus?"

Ginny giggled. "She said, and I quote, that if he doesn't wake up someday soon, she'll just hop on him."

"I'd think the subtle approach would work better."

Ginny goggled at her. "With Seamus?"

"You have a point."

Ginny nodded approvingly. "I usually do."

They enjoyed the warmth of the fire for a moment or two, before Ginny handed Hermione the bracelet she'd been working on. It was hardly the best example of the style Hermione had ever seen, but the colours (two shades of blue and a rich green) were very pretty, and she had to ask, "Is it for me?"

Ginny nodded. "Well," she said, "I didn't want you to feel left out – I made them for Jules and Louise as well."

Hermione was smiling so hard she thought she must look rather odd, but Ginny only said, "I'll see you on Wednesday?" They had made a standing arrangement to have breakfast together one morning a week – Hermione wasn't sure how well it would work out, but she thought it was a good idea.

She'd realised over the summer just how much she liked talking to Ginny, but it could be difficult in school. They didn't have classes together, and Ron and Harry tended to…take up a lot of her time. And it wasn't that that wasn't great, because it was, it was Ron and Harry, but…even though Ginny was always around, Hermione didn't want to talk to her in front of the boys.

Silly as it was, she really felt that Ginny was _her_ friend, and as such, they should spend time together separately. Not that she couldn't always find Ginny – if something dreadful happened, Hermione had a fairly good idea just whose door she'd be knocking on – but she didn't only want to see Ginny when she'd had a fight with Ron.

Ginny yawned again, and Hermione said, "Go to bed – you're dead on your feet."

Ginny nodded, standing up slowly. "I think I practised Quidditch for too long today. Don't let all that work get you down."

Hermione nodded. "Goodnight, Ginny."

" 'Night Hermione."


	11. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Ginny was turning a rather horrendous shade of deep pink, and privately Hermione wondered if she should pour her a glass of water. Eventually, Ginny managed to say, somewhat incoherently, "That…lousy, _ungrateful_, git-faced…git!"

Hermione sighed. "I suppose you're angry then."

"Yeah," Ginny said, bristling in her seat, "I'm angry. I mean, you wouldn't think it would kill him to be the least bit loyal, you know. I don't know – maybe I'm too optimistic, I just…I mean, Harry saved my life, Hermione, and Ron's life, probably six over, and…you think that'd mean something."

"_Ginny_," Hermione, wishing a table didn't separate them. Ginny looked in desperate need of a hug. "I'm sure Percy's…"

"And I'm sure he's not. I'm sure he doesn't even…it doesn't even strike him that he's doing anything wrong."

"Look, maybe I shouldn't have told you – I didn't want to upset you – I just thought…"

"No, Hermione, I'm glad you did. It's just…times like this I wish I had sisters. Maybe they'd be sensible."

"Sensible like Lavender? Or Luna? Girls are just as bad, Ginny."

"Thanks Hermione – want to destroy all my faith in humanity?"

"I didn't think you had all that much to begin with."

Ginny laughed shortly. "Well," she said, "Let me cling to the few scraps I have left, all right?"

"Sure. Sorry."

Ginny grinned and said, "Believe me, after this week, I'm not certain you're wrong."

"What do you mean?" Hermione said, wondering when Ron and Harry would turn up for dinner.

"Oh," Ginny said, "I was with Michael and the others earlier, and they were _so_ horrible to Luna, Hermione, I can't even…"

"What did they do?"

"You know what," Ginny said, "I don't even want to repeat it. I mean, I yelled at them, so…maybe they'll stop but, I don't get it. If I don't like someone, I tell them to their face." Hermione coughed – Ginny's jinxing ability was known, and respected, among the younger students.

Eyeing her suspiciously, Ginny continued, "Or I'll just not talk to them, but they…they were being mean, like, the way girls are mean."

Ginny was scowling, and Hermione said, "I never got the impression you were all that fond of Luna."

"I'm not," Ginny said, "I mean, she's not like you, or Louise or Jules, and…she _is_ insane, but it's in a good way, and, I just think maybe she could use a friend."

Hermione chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully. "I'm not sure Luna wants…friends, exactly," she said.

"Well, she'll have someone to sit in class with at least."

"That's really good of you, Ginny."

She grinned. "What can I say? I like misfits. They're usually more interesting."

"Is that why you made friends with me then?"

Ginny looked as though she'd been caught out, and said, "No, of course not, I don't think you're…" She paused, looking incredibly guilty. "You rumbled me. Sorry."

Hermione shook her head, trying to keep from laughing. "It's all right, Ginny," she said, "Really. I'm flattered. Now I know you think I'm more interesting than Lavender."

"Don't be so modest, Hermione – everyone's more interesting than Lavender."

Hermione snorted into her pumpkin juice. She got on fairly well with Parvati, who was really quite decent, even if they never would best friends forever, but there were times when Lavender drove her round the twist. Lately she was always offering to 'fix' Hermione's hair. Hermione didn't want her hair 'fixed' – she was perfectly happy with her hair exactly as it was, thank you very much, and Lavender sodding Brown could just get lost.

The best thing that could be said for living with Lavender was that it made her appreciate Ginny all the more. She'd even started spending the occasional evening in Ginny's dorm – her friends were really nice, though they seemed much younger than Ginny for some reason. Jules, in particular, was a little too fond of Gobstones for Hermione's taste. Louise, however, was lovely and possibly the only person Hermione knew who was willing to have actual conversations about Arithmancy. Things did occasionally get a bit girly, and silly, but…it was so much fun.

Ginny started to laugh along with her, and the two of them were still giggling when Harry and Ron sat down beside them. "And what were you two doing?" Hermione asked – their faces were suspiciously contented for two people who'd spent the afternoon writing a Charms essay.

Ron had obviously anticipated this question, for he said, "We've only six inches left to go, so we went flying." He didn't tack the words 'Leave It' on at the end, but they were implicit in his tone.

Ginny, meanwhile, was beaming at Harry with a rather disconcerting intensity, which Hermione rather thought he'd noticed, as he was staring at his plate. "How was it – flying, I mean," Ginny said, still grinning.

"Oh, it was good." Harry was evidently in a monosyllabic mood.

"Angelina thinks you'll definitely beat Slytherin."

Ginny's tone was so determinedly cheerful that Ron was giving her funny looks, and Hermione had to interrupt. "Ginny?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't you have that Transfiguration to do?"

An extremely odd expression came over Ginny's face, and she glanced quickly from Ron to Harry before saying, "Yeah, but…can't I just borrow your brain?"

Hermione sighed – they had had this discussion several times. "Ginny you're not _bad_ at Transfiguration – you're just…"

"Lazy," Ginny said, "Lazy, because I loathe it. Because it is the devil's subject."

Harry's mouth twitched, and Hermione said, "Look, do it now, and I'll check over it later, okay?"

"Fine," Ginny said, sighing deeply.

She trotted off down the Great Hall, and Ron looked at Hermione. "What was that about?"

"What?" she said innocently.

"All the smiling, and the…that's not like Ginny."

Feeling mildly guilty, Hermione said, "I might have told her about Percy's letter."

Ron nodded understandingly, but Harry still seemed a little confused. "Was she angry?" he asked.

"I believe her exact words were 'that lousy, ungrateful, git-faced git.'" Harry's eyes bulged in momentary surprise. "She was furious."

"Oh," Harry said, looking pleased in spite of himself.

"She wants you to know she's on your side, Harry, it's just…" Hermione paused, trying to come up with a plausible excuse, "Colin Creevey was practising Cheering Charms on her all day, so…"

"Right," Harry said. He seemed momentarily worried, and said, "Do you really think it's a good idea to let Colin around Ginny with a wand?"

Hermione wanted to laugh. "What do you think he's going to do exactly, Harry?"

Harry actually blushed, and said, "Just, he's not the most reliable wizard, is he?"

Thankfully, Cho Chang distracted Harry by waving at him, before he could tempt Hermione to laugh any more. Thank goodness he'd never attempted to pull this 'elder brother' act with her.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Hermione was using the spare half hour before dinner to read over her dictionary of Runes, something she never seemed to get enough time to do, when Ginny poked her head through the Portrait Hole. Catching Hermione's eye, she came to sit beside her, ducking and diving as though she was dodging a Bludger.

Amused, Hermione said, "What's all that in aid of?"

Ginny was pink and slightly shame-faced as she said, "I suppose…I'm a bit paranoid. When we were in Hogsmeade today I was looking over my shoulder for Ron the whole time."

"Oh," Hermione said delicately, "About that… Do you know you've got confetti in your hair?"

"Damn! Michael _made_ me go to Madam Puddifoots with him…" Ginny said, as they dusted her hair off, Hermione getting the back.

"I think it's weird, Hermione," she continued, "I felt like I was on display, like it was Michael's way of saying, 'This is _my_ girlfriend'."

"Well," Hermione, said, "You know what they say – once you've gone to Madam Puddifoots, you're officially a couple."

"Who says?" Ginny asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Well…Lavender and Parvati – and Hannah Abbot."

Ginny snorted. "Ridiculous." After a moment, she added, "Anyway, what were you saying?"

Although she wished she hadn't mentioned it, Hermione was determined to be brave. "Well," she said, "I was just going to tell you, you don't have to be paranoid about Ron any more."

"What?" Ginny said, with a rather worrying glint in her eye.

"I may have…let it slip." Hermione couldn't help herself – she quailed as Ginny said, "May have? Either you did or you didn't."

"You see, after the meeting, Harry and Ron were talking about Zacharias Smith, and I was explaining why he joined, and then…I didn't mean to, but…I told them about Michael… So you don't to worry any more!"

Ginny sat up sharply, and Hermione had a feeling her tactic had failed miserably. Ginny's voice was rather shrill as she said, "Why? Why? Why would you do that?"

"It was an accident," Hermione said, "I just…Look, Ginny, I think it's for the best. I mean, Ron knows now, so you don't have to worry, and really…there's no reason to think that he'll take it badly."

Ginny glared at her. "Yeah, right," she said, "How long did he spend ranting and raving about it?"

"Not long…ten minutes…half an hour."

"Great! Just…great." Ginny slumped in her chair. "I never wanted them to know."

Ginny had been quite adamant about this particular point on several occasions, and, thinking that she couldn't possibly make things worse, Hermione asked, "Why? What does it matter if they know?"

"Because…because, aside from Ron being an overprotective _git_, I didn't want Harry to know."

"But, look at it logically…Harry knows you don't like him anymore – that's a good thing."

Ginny stared at her. "No, Hermione, Harry doesn't know I don't like him – he knows that I liked him until someone else liked me, and that I'm so shallow that basically the only thing that mattered was someone liking me, not… And now he's going to think that I'm trying to show Michael off in front of him or something, like 'look what you missed' even though I'm not, even though I tried to keep it a secret, and I just…I don't want him…_anyone_ to think that that's what it's about."

"Okay." Hermione said, attempted to frame some coherent response to this diatribe.

"Lavender and Parvati _still_ make comments, you know." Ginny said, a sulky expression on her face.

"Ginny?"

"Yeah."

"Can I tell you something? And will you promise to believe me?" Ginny nodded. "Harry's as dumb as a post." Hermione held up a hand to silence the protests that automatically rose to Ginny's lips. "Do you know what he said, when I told him?"

"Well obviously not, Hermione."

"He said, 'that's why she talks now, she never used to talk to me.'"

Ginny moaned and covered her face with her hands. "Is this supposed to make me feel better, Hermione?" she said, "Because, there are other things we could talk about, like that time I sent a _singing Valentine_, or maybe…"

"Ginny, stop it." She subsided, though Hermione could tell her friend still felt distinctly mutinous. "My point is – you've been talking to Harry since, I don't know, the World Cup – yeah, I know you weren't around much last year – but it took him most of a year to notice that."

"Hermione – I love you, but I'm not seeing the comfort here."

Hermione sighed, privately wondering if all Weasleys were occasionally thick. "Look, Harry isn't nearly…intuitive enough to think that you're trying to show off in front of him, or that he has that much control over what you do – which he doesn't, as you well know – he still hasn't quite figured out that Cho might like him."

"Okay." After a moment Ginny chuckled and said, "How bad is it?"

"Honestly? It's like watching snails mating…" Hermione took a moment to be disgusted by that thought. "I think it'll be March before he figures it out."

"Well," Ginny said, "Given Ron…that still puts him ahead of the curve."

Hermione nodded, acknowledging the truth of that statement; she wasn't quite prepared for what Ginny said next.

"Do you…do you think I'm really like that?"

"Like what?" Hermione said, mystified.

"It's just, Jules and I were talking the other night, and…"

"And what?" Hermione said, slightly irritated. They'd be going down for dinner soon – she didn't have time to prod the truth out of Ginny.

"She said…she said I'm all about boys, that I don't do anything for myself, that's just 'Harry' or 'Michael' or my brothers, and…"

"What…what brought that on?"

"Well," Ginny said, twisting her hands in her lap, "I was trying to get Jules interested in Harry's thing, and…I don't know, I suppose it makes her uncomfortable."

"Because of her parents?" Jules, like Neville, had been raised by a grandparent, her own parents having fallen victim to Voldemort's supporters.

Ginny nodded and said, "Well…it got a bit heated."

"Yeah, clearly." Hermione said, disbelievingly. "When you two fight it's pretty…rough, isn't it?"

Ginny shrugged. "Louise is the peacemaker."

"Well…Ginny you don't believe that, do you?"

The younger girl shrugged, looking intensely miserable, and Hermione decided that it was time she got a dose of simple common sense. "Look," she said, "If you and Michael broke up tomorrow, would you…stop talking to Harry?"

Ginny shook her head, and, warming to her theme, Hermione continued. "Would you stop being friends with me? Stop standing up for Neville and Luna? Tie your hair down so no one would notice?"

"No," Ginny said quietly.

"Well, then…there you are. Look, Ginny, maybe Michael did help a bit, but…it's still all you. I mean, Viktor helped me – I'm, you know, more confident and all that – but that's not all Viktor, he just…sped it up a bit, that's all."

Ginny opened her mouth, looking confused, but Hermione cut her off, and said, "There's nothing wrong with feeling goof about yourself, or…no matter you got there, it's…as long as it's yours, and no one else's…like you said, even if you stopped going out with Michael, it wouldn't change anything."

Ginny hugged her.

Once they'd calmed down, Ginny said, "That's a nice quill."

Hermione grinned. "Thanks. I got it in Schrivenshafts today – I spent too much on it, but…"

"It's just so pretty," Ginny said knowingly.

They continued their conversation, and eventually Hermione decided to ditch Ron and Harry for one evening, and have dinner with Ginny and her friends instead.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Hermione was attempting to finish her packing before the last DA meeting of the term, when Ginny burst into her dormitory. "Hermione!" she said giddily, "The most _amazing_ thing has happened."

"Roger Davies came out?"

"What? No." Ginny flopped back onto Hermione's bed with a sigh. "It's even better."

"Okay, then," Hermione said, folding a pair of socks, "What is it?"

Ginny sat up, crossing her legs under her. "Well, you see, I didn't say anything to you, 'cause…well, I didn't anything would come of it, and I didn't want you to think…but then I went, and…I did!" She clapped her hands loudly, and beamed at Hermione.

Amused in spite of herself, Hermione said, "Did what?"

"The Quidditch try-outs were today, remember?"

Hermione shrugged. She hadn't really been thinking about Quidditch lately, except as it affected Harry and Ron – especially Ron.

Evidently Ginny was impatient with Hermione's lack of interest, for she continued, still smiling. "Well, they were, and…guess who's the new Seeker?"

Hermione stopped packing for a moment to stare at Ginny. "Not you?"

"No, I meant the other person who's sitting on your bed."

"You're the Seeker!"

"Yeah!" Ginny said, still grinning. "Isn't it great?"

Hermione bit her lip. She didn't want to guess how Harry would take it. He probably knew he'd have to be replaced, but…she couldn't credit him with enough forbearance to think that he'd easily accept it.

Ginny was still blathering on. "I mean, I've always wanted to be a Chaser, but…I thought I might as well try out, see how it goes, and then, well I'm not perfect, I mean, I'm not a patch on Harry, not to mention Charlie…did you ever see Charlie play? He's the most amazing…he _should_ have played for England, then we might have had a chance in the World Cup…What's the matter? You don't look happy."

Hermione sat down beside her, saying, "It's just – I'm worried about Harry. You know how he is about Quidditch. I might find it bizarre and confusing, but it really matters to him, and he's having a rough year already, and…I just think he's not going to like it that you're taking his place, and…he's my best friend, Ginny."

Ginny stood up with an odd expression on her face. She made a sound of disbelief before saying, "So that's it."

"What? Ginny don't…."

"No. No, really Hermione it's fine. You know it's not like I've wanted to be on the team forever, or anything. It's not like it's my fault Umbridge is an evil cow – I didn't kick Harry off the team. But, he's 'your best friend', so, I get it, that's what you have to think about."

Hermione bristled a little, but Ginny looked genuinely upset – indeed for a moment Hermione thought she might storm out of the room. "Look, Ginny, don't think that…."

"What? I just wanted you to be happy for me, Hermione. It's kind of a big thing you know."

"Not really. You know I never really got why everyone's so all over the place about Quidditch; it just leads to bad feeling between the houses, and…even you're all upset now."

Ginny looked exasperated, and said, "This has nothing to do with _Quidditch_, Hermione! Can't you just say 'Well done'?"

"Oh," Hermione said, "Sorry. I didn't, did I?" Ginny shook her head. "Well…Congratulations! Getting on the team…that's not easy."

Ginny shook her head mournfully. "You didn't see the other people who tried out."

Hermione patted her shoulder. "How bad?"

"Pretty shocking. If I'd never seen Harry… I mean an actual Seeker play, I'd feel really smug right now."

Hermione smiled. "Don't let that get you down – Harry's not a fair standard for anyone. You're probably better than Cho."

"Well, we'll see won't we?" Ginny shook her head wisely.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh," Ginny said, "She was crying in the toilets _again_ today. You do realise that's the eight time this month?"

"Well, Ginny…she is dealing with a lot, you know."

"And her friends aren't exactly being a lot of help either."

"What do you mean?" Hermione said curiously.

"Just a couple of things Michael said; I get the impression they think she's a bit of a wet blanket."

"_Ginny_!"

"What? She is. I mean, fair enough and all that – I liked Cedric…but she's not completely innocent, Hermione. You should hear some of the stuff Luna tells me."

"I know, Ginny, it's just you could be a bit more sympathetic, you know."

"Yeah, maybe." Ginny stood up and checked her hair in the mirror. With a grimace she turned back to Hermione and said, "I gather you might want to leave Harry alone this evening. Cho said something about 'since it's Christmas…'"

"What does that…? Oh." Hermione said, realizing abruptly what Ginny meant. "Oh, Ginny, I'm sorry."

"What for?" Ginny said, tossing her hair defiantly. "I don't care. I mean, I think she's a bit of a basketcase right now, and a really good friend, or a counsellor or something, would be better than a brand new boyfriend, let alone Harry, who's not exactly been the most stable lately, you might have noticed, but…that's all."

"Well," Hermione said, "When you put it like that…"

Ginny interrupted her sharply. "And balls to him anyway! Everything's crap because of him."

"Ginny!"

"It's true. You didn't care about the Quidditch team, 'cause of Harry, and then there's this, and…Michael's been such a git about the whole bloody thing, that really…"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione said, momentarily forgetting her anger.

"Oh! It's so stupid, Hermione, I don't want to…Well, okay, first of all, Michael found out Harry was coming to us for Christmas, right? And, you'd think most people wouldn't have a problem with that, since Harry's this old 'family friend', who just happened to save my life, and you know, has no family of his own – well, no decent, human family…But Michael got all thick about it."

"What's there to get thick about?"

"Exactly!" Ginny said. "I told you he was an idiot. Anyway, he got the idea that he could come stay the night or something…Like _my Mum_ would let me have a boyfriend over, and anyway, I want to keep him as far away from Fred and George as possible."

"Not to mention Ron." Hermione interjected.

"Yeah. Nothing sinister about that, right?" Hermione shook her head. "Anyway, when I explained all this, he got really weird, like I was doing it on purpose or something."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. She was willing to bet that Ginny, out of irritation with Michael, had become uncooperative and then sullen, in very short order. Ginny seemed not to have noticed however, for she said, "Anyway, I suppose I shouldn't care. You know what Michael's like; he doesn't realize the effect he has on people."

"Yeah," Hermione said blandly. It wouldn't be fair to point out that this was a trait he had in common with another dark-haired male fifth year in Ginny's life.

Ginny seemed to make a concentrated effort to think about something else, for she squared her shoulders and said, "Do you think Ron'll have enough guts to take advantage of the occasion?"

Hermione shrugged. She didn't want to admit out loud to hoping for just that – every time she thought of it, of Ron under the mistletoe, of Ron being impossibly suave and charming, of Ron and _kissing_…well, adrenaline surged in her stomach, and she had to try not to blush.

They would be walking back from the DA, and he would be…complimenting her on one of her hexes, or…even better, he would want a rematch, and even though Hermione knew she was better, she'd still give him the opportunity to regain his pride, and then…instead of Stunning her, he'd use a Summoning Charm, and take her up in his arms, and touch her hair, and his voice would be deep and sexy as he said…

"Could I copy your Potions essay?"

Hermione shook her head determinedly; there was no point, no point at all in fantasising about Ron waking up to himself any time in the next year. She knew him too well to imagine that he could be anything but useless when it came to taking advantage of Christmas, and the season of goodwill, and mistletoe.

Ginny seemed to sense her mood, for she sat down beside her, nudging her with one shoulder. "I tell you what," she said, "Reread that letter from Viktor…"

"Letter from…Oh blast!" Hermione said.

Ginny looked confused. "What?"

"I never answered it! Viktor sent it to me nearly three weeks ago, and I never answered him. I better do it now, Ginny."

"You can't do it now," Ginny said, checking her watch, "We've to go to the DA in fifteen minutes."

"What's he going to think of me, leaving it so long?"

"Just explain," Ginny said dismissively, "He knows it's an exam year, and…he's not stupid, he can probably guess the rest."

"Yeah," Hermione said, chewing on her lip. She was usually so _good_ about these things.

"Come on," Ginny said, "We've to leave in a minute, and I want to get changed."

"Why? You look fine."

Ginny shook her head at Hermione. "Honestly; Michael needs to be reminded why he doesn't want to fight with me, ever again."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, and Ginny giggled. "Okay," she said, "I want to wear a pair of jeans that don't have grass stains on them. Happy?"

"Sure." Hermione said, trying not to laugh.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

"Hermione! Hermione, wake up!"

Hermione opened one eye, frowned at her friend and said distinctly, "Go away."

Ginny glared at her and said, "Hermione Granger, get up this instant or I'll hit you with the pillow again."

"All right, all right," Hermione said grumpily, opening her eyes, but refusing to move.

Ginny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed under her. She did not however look as though she was preparing to meditate – rather, everything about her posture suggested excitement. Hermione wouldn't have been surprised to see her float off the bed in a moment.

"Come _on_, Hermione! It's Christmas."

"Fine, fine," Hermione said, finally sitting up. She hadn't slept well the night before – far too many thoughts seemed to rush around her brain about Christmas, about Harry and his…more difficult traits, about the Weasleys, and her parents, and exams…and Ron. Sometimes she wondered if it wasn't all too much to handle.

Ginny smiled at her and said, "Open your presents."

Hermione shook her head, but sat up quickly – she'd caught sight of the glittering pile at the bottom of her bed. She scrambled towards it as Ginny stretched like a cat, saying, "I love having a long lie-in in the morning."

"Really? I thought you wanted nothing more than to get up at the crack of dawn."

Ginny huffed at her, and said, "Look you're free to miss breakfast if you want, but…"

Hermione sighed, and pulled open her present from Harry – a history of twentieth century magical inventions with, Hermione saw, a foreword written by Gaspard Shingleton. Already planning to read it that evening, Hermione put it one to one side and looked at the others.

Her parents had, unsurprisingly, given her clothes and money, and Mrs Weasley had included a package of fudge. Thinking guiltily of what her parents would say, she bit into a piece, and watched Ginny open her present.

A moment later the younger girl shrieked and nearly fell off her bed in an attempt to hug Hermione. "It's a Weird Sisters tee shirt!" she said.

"Yeah, well…" Hermione said bashfully, "I knew you wanted one."

"Oh, Hermione, thanks! It's just like Tonks' ones."

In truth, that had been exactly Hermione's intent. She'd seen Ginny eyeing the young Auror's colourful clothing wistfully several times. Ginny didn't complain about not being able to buy expensive clothes or hair potions, but then…she didn't have to. As Parvati had pointed out one evening, just seeing all the other girls in Ginny's year was enough to make Hermione realise the difference. Louise and Jules were good friends to Ginny, Hermione knew that, but she sometimes wondered if Ginny couldn't help but feel a little inferior. Jules obviously had money, and while Louise wasn't exactly wealthy, she still had far nicer clothes and books than Ginny had.

That was why Hermione had bought the tee shirt. Ginny would never ask for it herself, and, in case, although Weird Sisters' merchandise wasn't massively expensive, Hermione knew that, with six other children to provide for, they couldn't really waste money on such things.

Admittedly, it had been a little out of Hermione's price range, but it was worth it – Ginny's eyes were shining as she pulled it over her head and started to model it for Hermione. "You know," she said, "I don't think I'm ever going to take it off."

Hermione grinned, reaching for a parcel of her own. "It might start to smell a bit."

"Oh," Ginny said, "That's from me, but…it's not as nice as yours."

"Don't be silly," Hermione said, unwrapping it. Once she'd got rid of all the paper, she found a long, stiffened strip of blood red velvet, which she held up to Ginny curiously.

Ginny's face was scarlet as she said, "You see…I didn't have that much…I mean, I couldn't afford to…Well, I got Mum to cut a bit out of my old dress robes, and then…I did all the Charm work myself."

"But, what is it?" Hermione said, wincing as she spoke. There was no way to phrase that question tactfully.

"It's…I don't what it's _called_ exactly, but… I thought you see that, well you probably find it a right pain in the neck to put your hair up – I know do – and, you shouldn't have to use Sleakeazy every time you want to look nice, so with this, you just tap each end of the strip, like this, and it'll sort of soften and curl up in your hair until it's shaped it into some kind of knot, and then it'll stiffen again, and that way it'll stay up, but you'll still have all your curls."

Ginny said all this extremely fast, not looking quite at Hermione, and she seemed to be quite surprised when Hermione said, "Thanks, Ginny. I love it."

In an odd way, she was actually profoundly moved. Most people she knew told her hair would be lovely if she got rid of the curls, or got rid of the frizz, or changed the colour, or got it cut – if, in fact, she made it look like anything but the way it actually did. This was a particular theme of Lavender's, and in her heart of hearts Hermione still nursed a horrible feeling that her hair was…ugly. That she was ugly.

But Ginny had just assumed that Hermione would want to keep her curls, that her curls could beautiful and elegant just the way they were, that her natural hair might actually be preferable.

Ginny still looked uncomfortable, and she continued, "I'm sorry I couldn't get you something better, but…I mean yours is so much nicer, and it must have cost…"

"Ginny!"

"Yeah."

"Shut up. I really like it."

"Thanks, Hermione" Ginny said, with a shy smile, that reminded her of the girl who'd blushed when Harry smiled at her. Indeed, they were almost on the cusp of a truly lovely moment, when, with a sharp crack, the twins Apparated into their room.

"Ginny," George said, "Don't go downstairs for a minute, all right?"

"What! Why?"

"It's nothing," Fred said dismissively, "Just Percy."

"_What_ about Percy?" Ginny asked, a dangerous tone in her voice.

Hermione sat down on her bed quietly – rather wishing she'd put her dressing gown on, as her nightdress was old and a little small, and feeling a little like an outsider to this family feud.

George grimaced and said, "He sent his jumper back, all right, and Mum got a bit upset, and…"

"You two said the worst possible thing, as usual."

"Hey!" Fred said, "Don't start on us – it's not our fault he's such a waste of space."

Ginny shrugged, and George interrupted what might have become an argument, saying, "Anyway, we'd best tell Ron; don't want him tramping down there with his elephant feet."

Fred snickered and said, "Or, Hermione could just go and meet him. That'd distract him long enough."

They'd gone before Hermione could ask what he meant, and she looked at Ginny questioningly. "What was that about?"

"Oh," Ginny said, rolling her eyes, "Just Fred's way of saying he thinks you're gorgeous."

"What!" Crookshanks leapt off Hermione's bed at her yelp, turning to look at her reproachfully once he'd landed.

Ginny, however, seemed completely unperturbed, and she was leaning over another present as she said, "Well, all the Weasleys think so… I even heard Mum saying something like 'she's grown up so well' the other day."

Hermione shook her head mournfully. "I don't think that's true."

"Bill said it – and he's going out with a Veela."

"He did not!"

"He _did_! I was showing him the photos from the Yule Ball, and he said…"

"All right, all right," Hermione said, feeling very tired all of a sudden. There was only one Weasley she wanted to think she was pretty, and he…well, he…

Trying to shrug off her sudden bad mood, Hermione reached for the last parcel. The note attached read, "To Hermione, Ron." Evidently brevity was something Ron valued. Preparing herself for a book on broom manufacture, or a history of famous Chess players, or something equally dispiriting, Hermione ripped the paper off.

It wasn't a book.

It was a large bottle – an extremely large bottle – of an oddly purple liquid, that seemed to have an oily texture. Tentatively, Hermione lifted the heavy crystal lid, recoiling in disgust when she got a blast of the odour. It wasn't pleasant.

But she didn't care. Ron had bought her perfume. _Ron_ had bought her perfume. Not a book, not some instrument that would assist her in her studies, but something totally frivolous, and feminine and useless... What did it mean? Could it be he thought…something – or wanted something? And if he did, what was she supposed to do, should she laugh it off, or ignore it, or talk to him, or…

Her reverie was broken when Ginny snorted loudly with laughter. "Look!" she said, "Look what Harry gave me. He must think I'm twelve."

Hermione wanted to defend her friend, but when she saw the packet of six shocking pink satin hair ribbons her mouth twitched in spite of herself. Harry, evidently, had panicked – nothing else could possibly explain his buying such a patently unsuitable gift for Ginny. She made a note to have a conversation with him before next Christmas.

Once she'd calmed down however, Ginny smiled at them fondly, and said, "Well – it's the thought that counts. What's that?"

Hermione passed her the bottle warily, knowing what to expect. Ginny's reaction didn't disappoint – she made a pantomime expression of disgust, shaking a hand in front of her face, and saying, "Wow! Musky."

"It's from Ron."

"Oh! Well, big brother finally woke up!"

"Do you think," Hermione said nervously, tugging at a lock of her hair, "That it means something?"

"Well – it means he knows you're female. And apparently want to attract…wild animals?"

"Ginny!" Hermione hissed, "Be serious."

"I am being serious."

"Well," she said desperately, "What should I do?"

"Why would you do anything?" Ginny said curiously.

"Well, what if…this…is supposed to tell me something? What if it's Ron's way of saying that he thinks I'm a girl, and a girly girl – a fanciable girl, and one who he wants to…"

"Hermione," Ginny said, thankfully halting her downward spiral into insanity, "You have _met_ Ron, right? He's not one for a subtle gesture – trust me."

"So – it doesn't mean _anything_?" Hermione couldn't quite restrain a feeling of sick disappointment. She been wanting Ron to see her, really see her, for so long, and the bottle of perfume had given her hope that he wasn't going to be as thick as he usually was…

"Of course it means something, Hermione. It means, he knows you're a girl, a girl who uses perfume, of a sort, and…he figured that out all by himself. Not too shabby for your average male."

"So I should just pretend to have my breakfast, like everything's normal?"

"Hermione," Ginny said patiently, "You will be having your breakfast. Now get dressed, and go say Happy Christmas to Harry and Ron."

"What are you doing?"

Ginny looked at Harry's hair ribbons and sighed, saying, "I've got to find somewhere to hide these. If Fred and George knew he'd got their 'scrapper' hair ribbons they'd never let him live it down."

"Okay then. Merry Christmas, Ginny."


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Ginny looked petulant, and she flopped on Hermione's bed heavily. "I can't _believe_," she said, "that Harry gets to go to Hogsmeade with Cho, and I get stuck practising Quidditch."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "I thought you loved Quidditch."

"I do love Quidditch – I'd just like to be actually good at it."

"You are good." Hermione said stoutly.

"Tell that to Angelina – with the things she's been saying in practise I hardly know which way is up any more."

"What's she been saying?"

"Oh," Ginny said disconsolately, "All these things about strategy and timing and effective communication with the Beaters – as if 'communication' is their problem, not, you know, staying on the broom."

"Come on, Ginny – you've been watching…playing Quidditch all your life. You'll get the hang of it." After all, Hermione thought, if Harry could learn to be a Seeker with no experience and aged eleven, it could hardly be all that difficult for Ginny."

"It's not that simple, Hermione! I'm not a natural Seeker, I just don't have…I don't know – I don't _think_ the right way…Harry better come back soon."

"You know," Hermione said, somewhat irritated by Ginny's attitude, "I'm sure Harry would _love_ to still be playing."

"Well, he's more than welcome to it Hermione! As far as I can see, all I've got from this is half of Gryffindor looking at me like I've killed Bambi, Angelina boring my ear off and Michael being an utter git!"

Hermione stared. "You know who Bambi is?"

"Bambi's a real person?" Ginny said quizzically. "I thought it was some Muggle thing – Louise says it all the time."

"It's…it's a bit complicated. He's a cartoon character."

Ginny sat up, an Arthur Weasleyish gleam in her eye. "What's a cartoon?"

Hermione sighed, "I don't…it's a bit complicated Ginny. What's Michael done?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh, he's been the most annoying thing in the history of annoying! You should've seen his face when I told him I couldn't go to Hogsmeade."

"What did he say?" Hermione asked, curious – admittedly, she didn't know Michael well, but he seemed like a decent guy; very concerned with treating his girlfriend the proper way.

"Oh all this stuff about how if I really liked him, I'd skip practise – as if Angelina would let me! – and, people will think I've dumped him, and don't I have any idea how embarassing it'll be for him to be without his girlfriend on Valentine's day – like I'm a bloody accessory Hermione!"

Hermione winced – if that was how Ginny felt, she wouldn't have been particularly accomodating. "What did you say to him?"

"I said if he kept it up, I'd take the same attitude to his OWL study, and then we'd see who was a bad boyfriend."

Hermione looked at her friend. Ginny still looked highly uncomfortable, rocking back and forth in her chair – surefire signs that she wanted Hermione to pry, demand information she had no business demanding, and make everything better. It was an irritating habit of Ginny's that she could never seem to come to the point, but by now Hermione was more than used to it, and so she said, "Was there anything else?"

"Oh," Ginny said, bristling at the memory, "He only said I'd have gone if Harry had asked me."

"What!" Hermione, who'd been copying out some poorly written Runes notes while talking, looked at Ginny so fast she almost hurt her neck, and spilled ink all over her page.

"I know! Can you _believe_ he'd say something like that – I'm telling you Hermione, he's really lucky I didn't hex him, and I _would_ have…only Sprout turned up."

"Yeah," Hermione said uncomfortably, "It's pretty obnoxious." Speaking delicately, she said, "Does he…know how you used to feel about Harry?"

This was profoundly dangerous ground – Hermione was fairly sure that Ginny still had feelings for Harry, and that they'd been getting on so well since Christmas was certainly suggestive, but Ginny tended to react badly to any insinuation that she still fancied him, and on the whole Hermione had decided to let it lie. All things considered, Michael was extremely lucky to have got off with just an argument.

Ginny shook her head violently, her vibrant hair seeming to take up all the light in the room. "I don't know," she said, "I mean…I thought everyone knew, after that _Valentine_…" Both girls smiled involuntarily at the memory, and Ginny continued, "But he never mentioned that. He just kept going on about how Harry came to mine for Christmas, and something about the last DA meeting and…I have no idea what he was thinking."

"The last DA meeting?"

Ginny furrowed her brow. "I _think_ I no what he meant," she admitted, "But it makes so little sense… Michael was just waking up from the third or fourth time I'd Stunned him – like it's my fault he gets Stunned so often, if he didn't let me win every single time…"

"Ginny," Hermione said, "the point."

"Oh, right. Anyway, Harry came over – he was complimenting me on the hex – nothing special about that, right? Nothing he hasn't said to everyone in the class at some time or another, and anyway Michael has a problem with it apparently."

"Michael…has a problem…with Harry…talking to you?" Hermione said slowly, positive she was missing something.

"Well," Ginny said, biting her lip a little, "He might have…the twins are so _stupid_ Hermione! They hit me with a Trip Jinx while I was talking to Harry, and of course he caught me, you know Harry, obsessive catcher and saviour of damsels in distress that he is, and Michael saw it and thought 'Oh my god! My girlfriend, she must be cheating on me!'"

Hermione thought this over for a moment, not sure of what she should say. Eventually, she decided to take the plunge, and said, "Didn't it strike you that…Michael might not be wrong?"

"About what?" Ginny scoffed. "I think if I was snogging Harry in the seventh floor corridor I'd know about it."

"I know," Hermione said, "It's just…you're not the only one who thinks you and Harry have…'chemistry.' Parvati's convinced you two are going to end up together."

"Hermione," Ginny said, "Don't be stupid. Harry doesn't like me – Harry is _never_ going to like me."

"That's not…Ginny, I don't mean it like that."

"Well I do." There was a hint, the tiniest hint, of tears in Ginny's voice as she continued. "Right now, I'm just _barely_ on his radar – I'm his best friends little sister, and that's all I'm _ever_ going to be."

"Ginny."

"No! I don't want to hear it, all right. Maybe if I'm really lucky I'll make my way up to being an independent aquaintance, but that's it. It. Is. Not. Going. To. Happen. And anyway," she said, "I wouldn't want it to. I don't want to wind up with the same boy I spent so long pining over – that's just sad, Hermione. Pathetic, that's the word for people like that."

Ginny's words might have sounded angry, but her expression told a different story. Her pretty face bore every sign of unhappiness – the set of her mouth could only be described as glum, and her posture radiated defeat.

"Ginny," Hermione said. "Tell me the truth. If Harry _had_ asked you – would you have gone?"

"No! I'm with Michael now – you don't just pick someone else up willy-nilly Hermione. At least…I wouldn't. And, anyway…why are we even discussing this? Harry asked Cho, and he'll always ask Cho and they're going to grow old and have fat, freckle-less, dark haired babies together. I don't come into it at all."

Hermione barely managed to control her laughter – and had Ginny been glaring even a little less fiercely she would certainly have let out an undignified guffaw. "Do you feel better now that that's out of your system?"

Ginny laughed helplessly and said, "Actually yes. I just…I wish it didn't matter to me – any of it. I wish Michael was a nice guy, and Harry wasn't so…Harry, and Ron would pull his head out of his arse and ask you out, and Jules could make up her mind whether she likes Seamus or not… I wish a lot of things – but, you know, I think most of them will never happen."

Hermione nodded, though in the truth she wasn't sure what exactly she should say to Ginny. There had been _that_ in her voice that made Hermione extremely uncomfortable – if Ginny did still have feelins for Harry, as Hermione was almost certain she did, she shouldn't despise herself for it. After all, Harry was a wonderful person – deep, deep down – and he and Ginny, it turned out, got on very well. They had the same sense of humour, and Hermione was fairly sure Harry thought she was good-looking.

Not that he'd ever said anything to that effect – he hadn't of course – but Harry's eyes had a way of following Ginny everywhere she went. Perhaps it meant nothing – so Ginny had said when Hermione, unwisely, had mentioned it to her – but all the same…

Ginny stood up, "Sorry for ranting at you," she said. "I only came up to explain about this weekened – I thought you might be wondering why Ron said he couldn't go downstairs."

Hermione flushed – she had casually, oh so casually, mentioned that maybe they go to Hogsmeade on Saturday (though she hadn't dared to suggest that they go _together_) but Ron had brushed it off without a second thought. It was a relief to know the reason why.

Ginny sighed heavily and said, "That's it. I'm going out to practise."

"What – why? The next match isn't for weeks."

"I don't care," Ginny said, "I don't care. If I stay here thinking about Michael and…I'll jump out of my skin. Flying will help – flying always helps."

Hermione refrained from mentioning that Harry believed the exact same thing.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

Ginny flicked through her charmed copy of the Quibbler moodily. "I'm amazed Harry actually told Rita Skeeter these things," she said. Her legs were crossed at the ankles, and she swung them back and forth where she lay on the floor of her dormitory. Louise and Jules were trying out some kind of magical hair dye in the bathroom, and Ginny had promised to judge the results. Jules had thrown a fit when she's considered dyeing her own red hair, and so they'd both been banished from the bathroom.

Hermione looked at her quizzically. "Why? It's the truth – it's what he's been trying to convince everyone of for months."

"I know," Ginny said, chewing on her lower lip, "I'm just…I suppose I'm impressed. From what you said, Rita Skeeter doesn't exactly sound like good listener."

For a moment or two they were silent, and then Ginny looked back at Hermione, grinning impishly. "Did Cho really take him to Madam Puddifoots?"

"How did you hear about that?" Hermione asked, somewhat baffled.

"Oh," Ginny said, flicking her hair out of her face, "Roger Davies regaled all of Ravenclaw with the story the other day, and Michael told me. He's not got the best opinion of Harry, now that he's cheating on Cho with you."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "You took care to inform him that Harry and I are just friends, right?"

"You know I did! Of course," Ginny added irritably, "I'm not sure Michael believes anything I say about Harry these days, so…but I did tell him. I also told him that they might want to consider just how stable Cho is before they start accusing Harry of being the worst boyfriend since…Othello."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Othello?"

Ginny nodded emphatically. "You know just because I'm allergic to my Transfiguration textbooks doesn't mean I don't read."

"You know maybe if you _did_ read your Transfiguration books you wouldn't find the subject such a chore," Hermione said pointedly. "It's really not that difficult – if you applied yourself for a few hours…"

Ginny clapped her hands over her ears and started to make a loud singsong "lalalalalala" noise. Hermione glared at her, and eventually Ginny stopped saying, "I'm sorry, but this is a song I've heard before. I don't like the subject – I have _never_ liked the subject. If I didn't need it to be a Healer…"

Hermione blinked – Ginny had never mentioned this before. "You want to be a Healer?"

Ginny shrugged. "I think I do," she said, "I mean…it'd be cool, especially if I could work on Jinx Reversal or something, but I don't _know_, not yet. Dad says we should always remember that we have time to sort this stuff out. Do you know what you want to do?"

Hermione shook her head – there were so many different things that interested her, such a multitude of things to plan and to learn and to change that she simply couldn't bear to think of cutting herself off from any one of them.

Ginny seemed unsurprised. "I figured," she said, "that you're not like me."

"What do you mean?" Hermione said, honestly baffled.

Ginny grinned. "Well," she said, "I'm a simple soul, really – I' m not good at that many things. I'm a fair Quidditch player, and I can cast a good hex and shut Harry up when it's absolutely necessary, but…apart from Astronomy there's not much I'm really good at it. And Astronomers have a terrible tendency to end up glued to a telescope for their entire lives."

Hermione gaped. "Where'd you hear that?"

"Well," Ginny said calmly, "They do when their brothers are obsessive jokers who like to magically attach objects to people's bodies."

"Yeah," Hermione said, "That's not exactly surprising. Harry and Ron want to be Aurors."

"Really!" Ginny said. "_Ron_ wants to be an Auror. I guess anything is possible. You know when he was younger he wanted to work in Florean Fortescue's."

Hermione would never have admitted this to Ginny in a million years, but the image of Ron the ice-cream man was strangely…endearing. In any case, Hermione glared at her friend and said stoutly, "Well, Ron'll be a great Auror."

"Yeah, sure," Ginny scoffed, "He'll just have to do some actual work first. I'm not saying I'm any better, but…"

Determined to put an end to these kinds of comments, Hermione said archly, "I notice you don't think Harry will have any trouble."

Ginny shrugged. "Well" she said, "I'm fairly sure he has the skills – if he didn't I wouldn't be here – and if not, he can always shout the Dark Wizards into submission."

"It really doesn't bother you at all, does it?" Hermione said admiringly.

"What, his yelling? Why would it bother me – he's not half as scary as Mum, and I've had a couple of battles with her lately."

"You fight with your Mum a lot?" Hermione said curiously. She didn't argue with her mother all that much – they tended to have a great number of light, comfortable chats, about clothes or books, or cats, or whatever sprang to mind. Her father on the other hand…

Ginny grinned and said, "Louise said to me once that she thinks for mothers and daughters not to fight is against nature. I don't know if she's right but…well, Dad agreed with me when I said it to him."

Hermione sighed. "I think," she said, "You and your mother just have extremely…dominant personalities."

Ginny shrugged. Twirling her quill in one hand, she pulled her hair off her face with the other and said, "That's another way of saying obnoxious. Has Ron kissed you yet?"

Hermione's mouth fell open. "What?"

"I see you two at DA meetings – always smacking each others arms, and trying to knock each other over, and then being oh so concerned in case you might have hurt the other person, and…"

"All right, all right," Hermione said irritably. She really didn't need to hear Ginny list off all of the many ways she and Ron were occasionally flirtatious. She had to live through it, after all, and it was the most frustrating thing imaginable.

She dropped hints to Ron – hints that were, in her considered opinion, nothing short of blatant, and yet…nothing. Not one solitary thing.

She'd kissed him. She'd gone up and kissed (all right, only on the cheek, but still) in front of the whole school – she'd made it absolutely clear that she was interested in him in _that_ way, and yet he still didn't seem to get it. Hermione had thought after Christmas that Ron might be starting to get a clue…she'd thought he might actually ask her to go to Hogsmeade with him, or take advantage of all that time they had to spend alone together as Prefects…but nothing. He did _nothing_.

"Nothing's happened," she said flatly, "And at the rate he's going I'm not sure anything ever will."

"Oh," Ginny said. For a moment she looked back down at the floor, before saying, "Have you ever thought that maybe…you could…make the first move?"

"What!"

"You know – some night, when you're out 'patrolling' just…hop on him – as disturbing an idea as that is when used in connection to Ron."

"I can't do that." Hermione said decisively.

"Why not? What's the worst that could happen?"

Hermione eyed her friend. "The very worst? He could say no – he could ask me not to come near him ever again because he doesn't fancy me, I'm not pretty enough, in fact I'm kind of repulsive and we could never be friends."

"Hermione, I know Ron can be quite possibly the most obnoxious teenage boy there's ever been, but…do you really think he'd call you repulsive?"

"I don't know," Hermione said uncomfortably. "But, even if he wouldn't…I still don't want to…you know."

"But," Ginny said, "Why?"

"Because I'm scared!" Hermione said passionately. "I don't want to _lose_ him – I've fought with Ron before, and it was horrible, and I can't risk doing that again."

"Hermione, you two are friends. It's not like negotiating a contract or something."

Hermione shook her head. "You don't know what it's like, Ginny."

Ginny's eyes boggled. "I've a pretty good idea what is to be scared of rejection Hermione. But Ron likes you back. You don't have to worry about that."

Feeling put upon, Hermione said, "Did you make the first move with Michael?"

"No." Ginny admitted, "But I would have – he just…beat me to it. Anyway, let's not talk about that pillock."

Hermione groaned. "What's he done now?"

Ginny sighed. "Nothing – he's done nothing. We're doing nothing. He hasn't even kissed me in a week! He spends all his time revising for the OWLs."

"Well," Hermione said, "He does _have_ to study, Ginny."

"I know _that_," Ginny said, "It's just…you don't know who's helping him out with Muggle Studies, Hermione."

With a sinking feeling in her stomach Hermione said, "Who is it?"

Ginny brought her hands together with a loud 'clap', saying, "The one, the only…Cho Chang. Apparently she wants to go into Muggle Relations, so she knows all about it."

"Well," Hermione said, "It doesn't matter, does it. She's going out with Harry."

"Sometimes," Ginny grumbled, "I think Cho's like…I don't know. Even when she's being all stupid or spends all her time crying, it's like all she has to do is smile and I feel like an ugly twelve year old again." She paused, shook her head as though shaking off such a depressing thought, and said, "Anyway, you're probably right."

Hermione nodded, and said, "I really wouldn't let it bother you too much Ginny." Privately she had the distinct impression that Michael's and Ginny's days as a couple were numbered – Michael was too invested in the idea of having 'a girlfriend', and what exactly it meant to have 'a girlfriend', and how 'a girlfriend' was supposed to behave, to actually deal with the girlfriend that he had.

Hermione looked at the clock on the wall and said, "I'd better go, Harry will be back from…"

She bit her tongue – she didn't know if she was supposed to tell Ginny about the Occlumency lessons, and she didn't want to risk letting something slip that she shouldn't.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yeah," she said, "He'll be back from those oh so believable 'remedial potions' classes he's taking." Hermione felt awkward, especially when Ginny added, "You know…I'm not an idiot, Hermione."

"Right, right. It's just – I really should go."

"I know," Ginny said, "It's just…don't feel you have to do what I said…about Ron – but, think about it, because, I think you two could be really…good. And might help his confidence, what with Quidditch and all."

Hermione waited until she was out of Ginny's room to raise her eyes to heaven at Ginny bringing _Quidditch_ into the discussion.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Hermione walked down the Great Hall with Ginny, who was busy accepting congratulations from every second person at the Gryffindor table. When they finally found a place to sit Ginny gave a happy sigh and hugged herself for a moment. She was actually glowing with happiness, and she didn't seem to hear Hermione when she said, "Do you want sausages?"

"No, thanks," Ginny said absently, still grinning. "Can you believe I beat Cho Chang, Hermione?"

"I told you so," Hermione said.

"Yes, well…forgive me but Quidditch isn't exactly one of your strong points Hermione."

This was too true to be denied, and so Hermione let Ginny continue. "I just…I didn't think I could do it, not after the last one. I mean…I _could_ do it; obviously, catching the Snitch isn't that hard, but…it's not like I was playing that gom Hufflepuff have."

"_Gom_?" Hermione said curiously. "Have you been hanging around with Seamus again?"

Ginny nodded mischievously. "I was with them…him and Dean at the party." She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I think he might have spiked the Butterbeer."

"Ginny!"

"What? It was only a little, and…we'd just won the Cup, Hermione."

Hermione shook her head and Ginny added, "Anyway, I needed it after yesterday."

"Why?" Hermione asked. "Surely winning the Quidditch cup wasn't _that_ traumatic."

"Oh, it wasn't the Cup," Ginny said, "It was just…_Michael._"

Her tone was more than usually disparaging and Hermione swallowed a sigh. "What is it this time?"

"Oh," Ginny said, "Just…well I dumped him, Hermione."

"What!" Hermione said, nearly spitting orange juice across the table.

"Yeah, I know," Ginny said, "But I didn't have a choice. Right after the match…I mean _right_ after the match, he comes down to me, and the first thing he says is 'how could you do it?' how could I play my best and beat his team; because, apparently, as his girlfriend, I'm obliged to care more about his stuff than mine."

"But you're not his girlfriend any more?"

"No! I'm not," Ginny said, her mouth twisting. "I told him that if he was so annoyed about me beating Cho Chang, then he should go complain to her for playing badly."

"Did you think she was bad?" Hermione said, phrasing her question delicately. If at all possible, she didn't want Ginny to know she'd missed the match.

"Well she wasn't good," Ginny said. "I think her concentration was off…or something; I'm not sure. She cried at the end, but that doesn't really mean anything does it?"

Hermione sighed and said, "And you're happy enough about ending it with Michael?"

"God yes!" Ginny said, shaking her hair out. "I'm giddy! He was driving me nuts."

"Oh," Hermione said, arching one eyebrow, "So that's why you were flirting with Dean all last night."

"I was not!" Ginny said indignantly. Hermione just looked at her, and she continued to defend herself, saying, "I don't _flirt_."

"Yes, Ginny," she said, "And Zacharias Smith doesn't make obnoxious and annoying comments on a regular basis."

Ginny looked shocked. "Do I flirt?" she said, "I don't mean to."

"Well," Hermione said, "You're no Lavender Brown, you're just…friendly. In a flirtatious way. Why do you think Harry likes you so much?"

A look of utter horror crossed Ginny's face. "I flirt with _Harry!_"

"Well," Hermione said nervously, "Not just Harry – there's Dean and Seamus and Neville and Colin and Dermot and…I'm making it worse aren't I?"

"Oh, I think so!" Ginny said. A moment later she put her head in her hands and moaned quietly. "I'm a flirt! What'd Mum say?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Nothing! There's nothing wrong with it, Ginny. Look at Tonks."

"She doesn't flirt."

"Oh come on, Ginny. She does a bit."

"No," Ginny said, looking at Hermione as if she were nuts, "She doesn't."

"Yeah she does! I mean, with Lupin obviously…but she even does a bit with Snuffles."

"Ugh!" Ginny said, with a look of disgust on her face. "That's her cousin Hermione!"

"You're the one who thinks he's good-looking." Hermione said defensively.

"When he was younger – that's what I said, and would you please let it go!"

"Fine," Hermione said sulkily. There was a moment's silence and then she said, "I meant to say, Harry knew you could do it. He said you just needed more confidence."

"Really?" Ginny said with a smile. "He said that?"

"Well, there was a lot of stuff about…diving at the correct time and gauging your opponents exact mindset and other things, but…I didn't really understand it."

Ginny seemed unable to contain her smiles, and was about to say something when Parvati and her sister joined them. "Ginny," she said, "I need to talk to you."

"Oh," Ginny said, "What is it?"

Parvati sighed and said, "I thought you should know that…" her voice trailed off as she looked at Ginny, and then she said, "Padma, tell Ginny what you told me."

Padma bit her lip and, looking nervous, said, "Okay…Ginny this wasn't…don't shoot the messenger, all right?"

"Okay," Ginny said, looking baffled.

"Last night at the Ravenclaw…wake…Michael kissed Cho!"

"What!" Ginny said furiously. Hermione saw Padma and Parvati exchange a glance and then beat a hasty retreat – it was up to her to calm Ginny down.

"I can't _believe_ it!" Ginny said, beginning to reach for her wand. "Muggle Studies my foot. All this time he was just trying to…"

"Ginny," Hermione said urgently, "Put your wand down."

"_No_!" Ginny said, "I am going to give him a hex to remember."

"You don't want to do that." Hermione said calmly.

"I don't? Why not – he deserves it! Twice over. Just think about how ridiculous he'd look with Bat Bogeys all over his face in the middle of the hall…"

"Ginny," Hermione said, "Don't lose your mind over this."

"Fine!" Ginny said. "I won't hex him. But I _should_."

"Think about how ridiculous _you'd_ look, hexing the boy you've just dumped."

"You have a point," Ginny admitted, "But tell me, Hermione; does every boy…_in the world_…fancy Cho Chang? Seriously, what is that?"

She was interrupted when Dean, who was passing, leaned over her shoulder and said, "Not every boy. Just the stupid ones." Ginny beamed at him.

"You heard then?" Hermione said.

He nodded. "Parvati told me."

"Great!" Ginny said, "No everyone knows. Everyone. Now I'm just the dumb girl he basically cheated on."

"No," Hermione said, "No one's going to think that Ginny."

"You know what they will think?" Dean said.

Ginny shrugged, and he continued. "They'll think she's taking your leavings."

"Oh. Oh I like that!" Ginny. "That's much better."

"Glad to help." Dean said, and moved off to join Seamus. Ginny looked after him for a moment, and then turned to Hermione, saying, "Since that's basically sucked out my will to live for the rest of today, maybe I'll do some work on Transfiguration."

"Well," Hermione said, "If you did…did actual work I mean, I think you'd guarantee yourself a place in McGonagall's good books for the rest of the year."

Ginny wrinkled her nose. "I don't think she'll care after yesterday – she was never that bothered by the twins."

"Yeah," Hermione said, "But still…it'd just be nice if this year you didn't have to cram for seven hours the night before the exam. I don't know how you're going to manage your OWLs."

"Hermione!" Ginny said irritably, "I've just broke up with my boyfriend of almost a year, and found out that he replaced me within a day. Give it a rest, all right."

Hermione glared at her, and Ginny gave in. "Fine! I'll work on my Transfiguration. But don't think that I don't know that you're only pushing this because of your exams."

"That is not fair!" Hermione said, feeling herself begin to swell up.

"Yes it is."

She turned in her chair to glower at Ron, who had finally come down to breakfast with Harry. "It is _not_." Hermione said.

"Yeah it is. Don't let her bully you, Ginny," Ron said, as he shovelled fried meats onto his plate.

Hermione gave in and started to eat her pancakes, as Harry said to Ginny, "How are you feeling – you didn't go up till pretty late last night."

"Oh," she said, staring at the Ravenclaw table, "I'm just peachy."

Harry was slightly put off by Ginny's tone, and she seemed to remember herself a moment later, for she said, "What are you lot doing today?"

"Studying," Harry said mournfully. He was echoed a moment later by Ron. "You?"

"Oh," Ginny said, catching Hermione's look, "I'm going to do _some_ work on my Transfiguration, and then…I'm going to help Luna make a bracelet."

"Still Butterbeer caps?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. You know," Ginny said, "give her a few years and they will be a serious fashion accessory."

"We'll see," Hermione said doubtfully.

There was a moment's silence – Hermione's mind was irritatingly blank – and Ginny stood up, saying, "I should leave you lot to it. You'll be taking a break at some point, right?"

Harry nodded fervently, ignoring Hermione's disapproval. "Well," Ginny said, "Jules was talking about having a picnic out by the lake this afternoon, so…if any of you want food, just come find us."

And then she was gone.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

Hermione swallowed her fifth potion of the day with difficulty – it was horribly sour – and tried not to worry about Harry. As Ron had told her, Harry was simply dealing with things on his own and all Hermione could do was be with him when he needed her (Ron, of course, hadn't phrased it in quite those terms.)

But not worrying about Harry was very hard to achieve. Worrying about Harry had become an engrained part of Hermione's thought process. It came as naturally as breathing.

So perhaps it was good that Harry had brought Ginny when he came to the Hospital Wing earlier, as, unlike Harry, Ginny was disposed to linger. They hadn't really had a chance to talk since the Ministry, but ever since that day…well, Hermione had an odd feeling. Ginny had been upset, naturally, but that wasn't what bothered her.

The difficulty was that Hermione couldn't seem to put her finger on what was wrong – Ginny just seemed slightly 'off'. She might have had good reason to be – Ron had been especially upset by Sirius' death – but Hermione didn't really think that was the source of the problem.

If there was a problem, and Hermione wasn't certain there was. She sensed something…strange about Ginny, but no one else seemed to have noticed it. Harry might have, simply because it was Ginny, and Harry seemed attuned to her, but Harry wasn't really processing anything at the moment as far as Hermione could tell. He talked to them, and Ginny said that he was eating, and Neville seemed to think he was sleeping, but every time Hermione looked in his eyes…it was like looking at someone who'd been hit on the head. He wasn't really there, with them, he was somewhere far off, and Hermione didn't like it one bit.

As for Ron, well, Ron, bless him, was not the most perceptive when it came to his little sister. In fact, he was anything but; even the twins seemed to be better at steering away from Ginny's weak points when necessary, but Ron… Hermione knew he meant well, indeed _Ginny_ knew he meant well, but there were times…

It didn't help that, like Hermione, Ron had been stuck in the Hospital Wing ever since that night at the Ministry.

Ginny was staring out the window, and Hermione took a deep breath and said, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Ginny said absently. "Is 'Hagrid's Little Friend' Grawp?"

Hermione looked around the room quickly. "You know about Grawp?" she said.

"Of course I do," Ginny said. "Ron told us about him when we going into the forest."

"Oh," Hermione sputtered, "We weren't…we weren't supposed to…to tell anyone about that."

"Yeah," Ginny said. "I figured that out."

Silence fell between them for a moment, and to cover her awkwardness Hermione said, "How's your ankle?"

"It's fine," Ginny said.

"I've never broken a bone." Hermione said, "Was it sore?"

Ginny looked at her expressively, and Hermione shrugged, knowing the question was redundant. "It wasn't too bad," she said.

"Really? Harry said you couldn't even walk."

Ginny shook her head. "It's nothing," she said dismissively, "A crack, a bit of pain…Ron walked around on his, remember?"

Hermione shook her head. "Ron stood up for maybe five seconds, Ginny. And he wasn't running from insane Death Eaters."

"Yeah. Whatever." Ginny said.

"Not whatever!" Hermione interjected, suddenly angry. "I was really scared for you – what with Bellatrix Lestrange picking you out like that."

"Well," Ginny said, her mouth curling with disgust, "She found someone more fun to play with."

Hermione shuddered. "I can't believe…she's sick."

"Yeah," Ginny said, "I know. It was like…it was like it was fun for her. Like it's easy to just up and do an Unforgiveable. All things considered, I think I got off lightly. At least I'm not stuck up here all the time."

"Yeah." Hermione said. "But I'm still going to be glad you didn't die."

Ginny smiled. "Me too… I mean, for you."

Hermione grinned at her confusion and for a moment they were silent. It was hard to think of words to say after everything they'd been through. It wasn't that Hermione didn't want to talk to Ginny, didn't want to hear the news from the Gryffindor common room, it was just that…it was terribly comforting not to say anything. Ginny seemed to like hashing out the details of every single curse, every single jinx that had been thrown (in particular she dwelt rather obsessively on her inability to walk) but Hermione just liked to think about it.

Death and feelings she could deal with, but when it came to scary people in masks who cursed children, Hermione liked to put it in a little box in her head, and think it out, gradually.

Still this silence was most unlike them – usually they were both scrambling to fill their time together, apart from everyone else, with as many words as possible. Ginny eventually sighed and said, "So, what's it like being up here with Ron?"

"Ssh," Hermione said, "He'll here you."

"No he won't. He's too busy beating Neville."

And it was true. Neville's skills didn't really extend to chess. Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's boasting and said, "It's not so bad. He snores, but it's a lot better now I can sit up and poke him if I have to."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "I'm not going to say a thing about that remark, Hermione. Not a thing."

Hermione snorted, but she wasn't really sorry when they were interrupted by Dean, Seamus, Lavender and Parvati. Admittedly, Lavender's habit of flipping her hair and flashing her perfect white teeth was more than a little irritating, but Hermione could put up with that.

It was Neville's fault, really, that Ginny decided to leave, and even then it wasn't intentional. He was telling Parvati about the Ministry, saying, "And Ginny got through all of that, and only a broken ankle."

A moment later Ginny stood up and said, "I think I need a walk. Last trip around the lake before…"

"Oh," Hermione said disappointedly, and watched her leave. She was intrigued to see Dean follow her out of the room.

Hermione didn't doubt that she'd hear all about what Dean had said, and how he'd said it, soon enough. But, for now, she had to put up with Lavender.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Ginny sat on her windowsill, one leg hooked over the edge, and read her letter. Dean's words were sufficiently engaging to engross most of her attention, but not enough to distract from a semi-constant commentary to Hermione. Thankfully her ramblings needed little response, and Hermione was able to retreat into her own thoughts without being rude.

Those thoughts were worlds away from the pleasant letter of a new boyfriend, and occasionally, when Hermione looked at her friend she felt very old. It was hard, indeed almost impossible, to summon up enthusiasm for Ginny's new boyfriend when Harry was facing a fight for his life.

It was so…_unfair_. That was the thought that kept circling around Hermione's mind. Harry wasn't even sixteen for another day, and yet somehow he was expected to defeat the coldest, most ruthless wizard that had ever lived. Even though Hermione believed Harry when he said he wasn't scared, _she_ couldn't quite reconcile herself to it.

The truth was, Hermione was scared. Scared that she was going to lose her best friend when he'd barely even had a chance to live. In fact, Hermione thought she would have given a great deal, a very great deal, to give Harry a normal life. Any other boy his age could have spent time missing his girlfriend, but Harry had skipped those feelings in his grief for Sirius and his struggle to accept that he must kill or be killed.

So, it was difficult for Hermione to pay Ginny's concerns the attention she usually did, and she had drifted into a reverie, almost without knowing, contemplating the months and years to come.

"Hermione," Ginny cried, "Hermione look."

"What!" she said, startled.

"Look what Dean drew me," Ginny said, holding out the manuscript.

Covering the bottom half of the page was a neat little sketch of Ginny on her broom, one hand stretched out to catch the Snitch. Her face was set in almost comical determination and her hair was blown back by the wind.

"Wow." Hermione said. "Dean's got even better. How is it you attract these artistic boyfriends?"

"What?" Ginny said quizzically.

"Oh, you know, Michael and his sonnets, Dean and his drawings…"

"Michael never wrote any sonnets, he just threatened to. And I don't know; maybe it's my stunning poetic gifts." Ginny said innocently.

"Ginny dear," Hermione said wisely, "I'm very fond of you, but you haven't a poetic bone in your body."

"Does it have to be a bone," Ginny said, "Can't it be a…soft tissue, or cartilage maybe?"

"The point, Ginny."

Ginny shook her head dramatically. "Fine then," she said, "I, Ginny Weasley, am a philistine, with no appreciation for art or culture. I'm a terrible girlfriend for Dean and clearly he should know better."

Hermione nodded approvingly. "That sounds about right."

"Yeah well…maybe I can be his Muse."

They were silent for a moment, and Hermione could just hear Harry shouting at his knight upstairs. Perhaps that he always played Ron tended to skew her judgement, but Harry never seemed to improve at chess.

Ginny looked at Hermione seriously and said, "Are you all right?"

"What?"

"It's just…you keep drifting off, and I thought maybe there was something on your mind."

Hermione sighed, hating that she had to lie to Ginny, and trying to think of a plausible excuse. "I suppose," she said slowly, "I just worry that this summer will be the last summer when…when it's just the three of us, all together. I mean next year Harry could be anywhere and…I miss when things were simple and…better, and it was just us."

"Oh." Ginny said flatly. A moment later she swung herself down from her seat and said, "I think you should go watch the chess match."

"Are you sure?" Hermione said, feeling suddenly guilty. "I kind of wanted to talk to you."

"Hermione," Ginny said kindly, though her face was a little sad, "You were barely even listening to me. And I should probably rescue Mum from Phlegm anyway."

"Well…if you're sure."

Ginny evidently was sure, for she hustled Hermione out the door and ran down to the kitchen as fast as possible. Hermione spent the rest of the evening with Ron and Harry. It was certainly pleasant, but she couldn't help feeling that she'd made some kind of blunder, a feeling that only intensified when she went back to Ginny's room and found her asleep on the bed.

When they'd stayed in Grimmauld Place they'd developed the habit of getting ready for bed together – a hum of conversation accompanying the brushing of hair and changing of clothes. It was a small ritual, but one Hermione enjoyed. She'd been glad to pick it back up this summer, and that Ginny had chosen not to wait for her was most unusual.

Hermione got into bed with an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Things did not improve the next morning.

Ron scarcely noticed of course, but Ginny was not her usual talkative self, and when Mrs Weasley asked her to do a message in the village she jumped at the chance. Much to Harry's disappointment, this meant they were unable to play Quidditch, and the rest of the day passed in desultory attempts at conversation.

The moment Ginny returned, Harry cornered her and said that she absolutely, positively _had_ to go flying with him, having abandoned them that morning. Ginny's face, which had worn a somewhat thoughtful expression, brightened somewhat at this, and she agreed quickly.

Hermione was too hot to fly, and Ron claimed he was too full from lunch, though he certainly seemed to have enough energy to flick water at her, and so they only watched. Ginny and Harry were evenly matched – his broom was about fifty times better than Ginny's, but his goal-scoring ability, frankly, was not, and the end result was thirteen-twelve to Ginny.

Naturally, they fell to chatting afterwards, as they went in for Harry's birthday tea. Hermione watched as Harry went out of his way to have Ginny sit beside him, even pulling out her chair, and Ginny ruffled his hair teasingly as she explained his birthday present (the first she'd ever given him), a specially charmed headband to keep his messy hair out of his eyes during Quidditch matches.

Hermione suspected that Harry was enjoying this attention, and she looked at Ginny significantly; this was exactly the kind of thing she'd been talking about. Ginny blushed under this scrutiny, and starting eating her treacle tart extremely rapidly – thankfully, Harry didn't notice as he'd started a conversation with Remus.

Hermione was sorry for it though later, when Ginny seemed about to slink off upstairs. She claimed she was tired, or had a headache, and would, Hermione suspected, have used any number of excuses to avoid them, had not Harry forestalled her by asking her to join in a moonlit game of Quidditch.

Hermione, admittedly, was becoming thoroughly _sick_ of playing on such a regular basis – especially as Ron never failed to draw attention to her unfortunate lack of ability (something Hermione found rather irritating, given his performances over the last year.)

Ginny however seemed to regain her more usual good mood as they played. Perhaps it was the night – the air was dewy and warm, a thin slice of moon shone overhead, and there was a wind blowing that seemed to promise any number of exciting events. In any case, by the end of the match she was recounting the story of one of her first flights, when she'd been caught in a rainstorm and had inadvertently flown into the hen house. She claimed to have been the cause of the hen house's seemingly permanent condition of imminent collapse.

Ron was particularly amused by this story, and even Hermione had to acknowledge the humour of a pint sized Ginny destroying a solid wooden shed.

Thankfully, Ginny waited for her that evening, and as she was dragging a hairbrush through her red locks, Hermione searched for a way to repair the damage of the night before. Finding the words, however, was difficult, and Hermione was on the verge of giving up, when Ginny said, "Do you think…do you think Harry still likes Cho?"

Hermione stared at her. "I _definitely_ don't." She said. "Why?"

"Oh," Ginny said, chewing on her bottom lip. "I saw her today – that's why I was so late…"

"You saw her?" Hermione asked, unable entirely to contain her surprise.

"Yeah. She was going to visit the Diggorys, so I…I showed her the right way. I said…I said she could come have tea or whatever, if she wanted to talk, but…obviously she didn't."

"Yeah." Hermione said, slightly preoccupied. She was surprised that Ginny could be so gracious – she and Cho simply didn't like each other, it was well known, and Hermione had to respect her willingness to set that ill-feeling aside.

"I just wondered," Ginny said, "If I should tell Harry, if maybe he'd want to know… What do you think?"

It took some effort for Hermione to pull her many thoughts together. "I think," she said, "It's none of his business. Besides, he has enough to worry about right now."

"I know," Ginny said regretfully. "Visiting Fortescue's used to be such a _thrill_ when we were younger, and now…"

Her voice trailed off sadly, and a small sigh escaped her lips. "I just feel so _old_, Hermione."

Smiling, Hermione embraced her friend, thinking that she didn't know the half of it.


	20. Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

"I don't know," Ginny said, holding an earring up to judge the effect, "I think they make my ears look like teacup handles."

Hermione blinked. "Sorry…what?"

"My ears," Ginny said, "Surely you've noticed they're a little on the large side." Hermione boggled at her, and Ginny continued in a patient voice. "You catalogue your textbooks, I decide which earrings will minimise my ears; we all have our ways of preparing for the school year."

Hermione shook her head helplessly. "Do you really think earrings are what you should be concentrating on?"

Ginny shrugged. "What else?"

"I don't know," Hermione said irritably, "Maybe your OWLs, or…"

"No point in worrying about that," Ginny said. "I'll do the work, and get it done. I'm not as easily stressed as Hannah Abbot."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "No one's as easily stressed as Hannah Abbot."

"Really?" Ginny said slyly. "I seem to remember Parvati saying something about you…reciting Arithmancy formulas in your sleep."

"I did _not_!" Hermione said.

"Don't let it bother you," Ginny said with a shrug. "It's better than the things _I_ say when I'm asleep."

Her face was smooth and unruffled, but her little speech nonetheless caught Hermione's attention. Ginny did, occasionally, talk about what Tom Riddle had done to her, but usually she only mentioned it when the pressure of _not_ talking about it had grown too much. She'd never just dropped it casually into conversation.

Hermione opened her mouth and paused, uncertain of how to respond. By the time she'd come up with a sentence that was suitably bland and soothing, Ginny had moved on. "Did you notice that when Dean drew me, he didn't draw my ears?"

Relieved, Hermione said, "Maybe that's because your ears aren't that big."

"Yeah," Ginny said. "Or maybe he knows not to offend his girlfriend."

Hermione laughed, but she couldn't help but notice how Ginny smiled when she said Dean's name. "You really like him, don't you?"

Ginny had just finished pulling her nightdress over her head, and she was a little flushed as she said, "Yeah. I do like him. I think I _like_ him more than anyone I've ever known. He's so nice, and good, and…decent. Right down to the bone, decent. He's too good for me, really." She smiled again. "I can't wait to see him. When I talk to Dean, Hermione – he's interested in everything I say. He doesn't understand half of it, but he wants to hear it _all._"

"That sounds really nice," Hermione said, a little enviously. "The last boyfriend I had was Viktor, and…that didn't exactly end well."

"A bad boyfriend is worse than none," Ginny said wisely. "That's what Mum always says."

"I don't know," Hermione said, "For a while I thought Ron was going to…I don't know, I thought something was going to _happen_, but day after day he does _nothing_ – just pulls my hair and flicks water at me. It's so…frustrating."

"Look, Hermione," Ginny said, her voice serious, "I don't pretend to be Ron's biggest fan, especially not lately, what with him being all Spanish Inquisition-y about my love life," Ginny scowled for a moment, "But, I really thin k it'd be better if you just…stop waiting for him to get a clue. It is a little disgusting for me to picture Ron in a 'romantic situation', but he's not…I mean most boys aren't…they can be shy, is what I'm saying."

Hermione glared at her. "Ron's not shy."

"Yeah." Ginny said, "He's not shy around _Phelgm_, but…you can't exactly judge him by that. It's not his…normal behaviour, desperately obnoxious as it is."

"I _hate_ it," Hermione confessed. "Every time she comes into the room and his tongue practically falls out of his mouth… it makes me feel like I'm not even there, like I'm invisible. It's so…humiliating. At least Harry knows how to behave himself."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Apart from last year, when he was staring at Tonks every chance he got."

"Well…yeah." Hermione admitted. "I think Prof…I mean, Lupin, I think he thought it was funny."

"That might be because it was." Ginny said. "And Lupin would know about it, wouldn't he."

Hermione glanced at her. "What are you on about?"

"Why do you think Lupin noticed at all?" Ginny asked, mischievously.

It took a moment for her full meaning to dawn on Hermione, and then she couldn't help but say, "That's really cute! They'd be so…"

"I know," Ginny said, equally enthusiastic, "They really would; I suppose it depends if Mum gets her way or not. It'd be cool to have Tonks for a big sister." She looked slightly wistful. "I always wanted a big sister."

"I always wanted a brother," Hermione said, "Or maybe a sister; something of the sibling persuasion anyway."

"I suppose it's good you've got Harry then," Ginny said with a small smile.

"Yeah, it really is," Hermione said, her stomach clenching with the horrible fear that she might lose him. "I'm really lucky."

Ginny stood up, yawning and stretching her arms over her head as she did so. "I'm going to go brush my teeth," she said.

Hermione nodded, and turned to look out the mirror. There was a slight mist clouding the glass, and the almost full moon looked pale and sickly. Hermione shivered as she looked at it – she felt a thrill of something that might have been fear, or foreboding, or any one of a dozen feelings. The weeks of the summer had been so peaceful, almost like a dream, a more welcome escape from reality, but now…now they were going back to Hogwarts. And while once Hermione might have anticipated the start of the new year as the herald of increased knowledge and confidence in her abilities…all she could think of was the obstacles facing them all.

As she turned back into the room, she heard Ginny squeal, and then Harry's voice, sounding slightly odd, saying, "I'm so sorry…I didn't realise…there was anyone in there."

Something about his phrasing stirred Hermione's curiosity, and she took a step towards the door, wondering what on earth had happened. Before she had time to think however, Ginny came rushing through the door.

For a moment she looked almost desperate, and then she seized Hermione's long dressing gown and wrapped herself, belting it securely at the waist. Hermione had opened her mouth to ask why she was doing this, when she saw Harry standing in the doorway. He glanced around the room for a moment – Hermione realised he'd probably never seen it before – and said, "I'm really sorry, Ginny."

"No!" she said, her face scarlet, "It's fine… Mum's always telling me not to go walking around half-clothed. I thought the door was locked."

Harry flushed in his turn, and suddenly Hermione realised that he wasn't wearing anything except a pair of shorts. Now, Hermione had never been attracted to Harry, had never considered him as a boyfriend, and that wasn't about to change, but she had to admit…that was a nice chest. A girl could not be blamed for looking at a chest like that.

There was an awkward silence, as he seemed to search for something to say, finally settling on, "Well sorry again."

He didn't move though and finally Ginny said, "Well…Goodnight Harry."

He started – Hermione saw that he'd been looking at Ginny's open wardrobe – and said, "Right. 'Night Ginny, 'night Hermione."

The moment he was gone, Ginny closed the door, leaned back against it and let out a sigh. Unable to resist any longer, Hermione said, "What…exactly…happened?"

Ginny laughed weakly. "He…It's Mum's fault. I told her I needed a new nightdress – I told her this one was so old it was getting skimpy – but…did she believe me? No."

"So?"

"So… I was leaning over the sink, to spit out…and Harry just had to choose that particular moment to open the bathroom door – and I swear I locked it Hermione – and this nightdress kind of…rides up a little. A lot."

"_Oh_" Hermione said. No wonder Harry had looked so hot and bothered. "How much is a lot?"

"Well," Ginny said, moving to sit on her bed, "I didn't…flash him the goods, if that's what you're asking, but…only just."

Hermione couldn't help it – her mouth twitched. Ginny, still quite pink, caught her eye, and suddenly the two of them were laughing in a way that could only be described as raucous.

Once they'd calmed down a little Hermione managed to say, "You, Harry and white nightdresses – what's up with that?"

Ginny, her voice burbling with laughter, said, "I don't think this is what my eleven year old self had in mind!"

"Well," Hermione said innocently, "At least you know Harry wasn't looking at your big ears." Ginny flung a pillow at her.

Much later, when they'd finally calmed down and turned off the lights and got into bed, Hermione remembered something she'd been meaning to ask before. "Ginny?" she said.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you…about Dean?"

"Anything you want." Ginny said, though she sounded a little tired.

"Did you…did _you_ make the first move with him?"

Hermione heard her turn over in the bed before she answered. "Yeah. It was that day we went for a walk around the lake, remember? We were just chatting – and it was really nice, after everything that had happened, and my stupid ankle, and so…I kissed him. Only a little bit, but I did." Her voice took on a confessional tone. "Afterwards – before he said anything – I thought I was going to be sick, but then he asked me out."

"And you walked around the lake holding hands, and a pair of swans followed you everywhere you went."

"When you put it like that it sounds ridiculous!" Ginny said. "Besides, they were black swans. But doesn't that just show you, Hermione – it's not that hard. It can be done."

"Yeah," Hermione said thoughtfully, "It can."


	21. Chapter TwentyOne

Chapter Twenty-One 

Hermione was reading over her Potions notes, trying to figure out where exactly she'd gone wrong, when Ginny sat down beside her looking grumpy. She heaved a melodramatic sigh, and Hermione eyed her thoughtfully. Even though Harry had beaten her in class today – basically by _cheating_ – she'd still noticed Ginny's reaction to his new Potions book.

As she'd often lamented, Ginny was naturally fair skinned – it went with her red hair – but ever since dinner that afternoon she'd looked unusually pale, even for her. She said nothing about this however, and merely lugged a large textbook onto the table and said, "I'm going to fail my Transfiguration OWL."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You are _not_ going to fail. All you have to do is…"

"Magically gain complete knowledge of all aspects of the Transfiguration of objects within the next month?"

Hermione looked at her severely. "Don't be ridiculous. What did McGonagall say?"

Ginny slumped in her seat. "She said…she said I'm sloppy; I don't concentrate enough on what I'm trying to do."

She looked dispirited, and Hermione tried to sound comforting. "Well," she said, "All you have to do is put some work into it, and then you'll be fine."

"Sure," Ginny said sarcastically, "And every time a Weasley passes Transfiguration a House-Elf gets its clothes."

"What?" Hermione said pointedly.

Ginny glanced at her startled, and then attempted to backpedal. "It's just…it's just a saying, Hermione, it's not…I mean, I agree with you about the House-Elves, you know that, right? I mean, if we treated them better, we mightn't have so many freaks like Kreacher, I mean…. Please don't yell at me."

She really did look tired, and so Hermione decided to let it slide and said, "Is no one in your family good at Transfiguration?"

Ginny shrugged, flipping through her textbook disconsolately. "I reckon the twins are pretty good – they'd have to be, wouldn't they? – and Bill was pretty good, but then Bill's good at _everything_. And then there's…Percy. Mum says it's because I'm like Dad – he's useless at it too."

Feeling even more curious, Hermione said, "What is it about Transfiguration that you find so difficult, exactly?"

Ginny looked slightly helpless. "It's…I _can_ do it, Hermione, if I…if I really work at it, but…it seems to take three times as much work to do well in Transfiguration as every other subject. I'm always exhausted after I've done the homework."

"But you _can_ do it?" Hermione said significantly.

"Yeah," Ginny said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well," Hermione said, "Maybe it's that…you're just not used to having to work so hard at something."

Ginny raised her eyebrows questioningly, and Hermione continued. "I mean, Charms and Defence and Astronomy all come to you fairly easily, don't they?" Ginny nodded – they both knew which were her best subjects. "And you don't really find Potions or Herbology difficult…"

"Herbology's dead boring, if that's what you mean." Ginny said.

"Yeah, you've said that," Hermione answered, "But you don't have to work at it too hard, do you?"

"No," Ginny said, starting to see her point. "Care isn't too bad either – I'm even better at Runes, though it takes ages."

"Well there you are," Hermione said, satisfied, "You're just not used to having to really struggle with something."

Ginny shrugged again. "This isn't doing much for my stress levels, Hermione."

"Oh," she said, "But…at least you know that…that there's nothing wrong with finding it so difficult."

"Yeah," Ginny said, "You're probably right. I'll have to do something though – McGonagall had that look in her eye today."

"What look?" Hermione said, amused.

Ginny stared at her. "_That_ look. You know the one."

This was unanswerable, and so Hermione let her continue. "Anyway, Dean said he'd help with Transfiguration if I need it." Ginny paused, and then added impishly, "Of course I'm not sure he's actually any good at it, but…he looked so sweet when he offered, Hermione."

"So I take it everything's going well then?"

"Well…we've only been back a day, so…maybe a week from now I'll discover he likes fluffy handcuffs or something, but…Dean doesn't strike me as a deep, dark secrets kind of guy."

Ginny was now chewing on a sugar quill and staring into space absently, and so she didn't see Hermione start at her final words. Her phrasing was so odd that for a moment Hermione thought she was trying to make a point, but a moment later she continued. "Did Harry explain what happened to his face?"

"Yeah," Hermione said, "He said…" Her voice trailed off uncertainly. She was far from sure Harry would want her to spread the details of Draco Malfoy's attack around – the circumstances had been so humiliating – but at the same time, every time she had to lie to Ginny, or at least conceal the truth from her, it felt more and more uncomfortable.

"I don't think he'd want me to talk about it, Ginny," she said at long last.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Come on, Hermione, it's perfectly obvious Malfoy did it – Harry disappearing into his compartment and all that – I'm just surprised he could get the jump on. I know for a fact he's not _that_ quick with a wand."

"I know…I just…" Hermione felt rather unhappy at the direction this conversation had taken – she _knew_ Harry wouldn't want her to reveal the details, not even to Ginny, and yet…

"Oh…just forget I asked." Ginny said irritably. She opened her book with a thump, and settled down to read a chapter on Vanishing frogs.

For several minutes Hermione tried to think of something to say, and finally she settled on asking the question that had been bothering her since dinner. "Ginny? Are you okay?"

Without raising her eyes from her book, Ginny said, "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just earlier…when Harry was talking about that stupid book, you seemed…" It was hard to decide how to end this sentence. Upset – disturbed – frightened – they were all words that would fit Ginny's feelings, and yet they were also words that were almost bound to alienate her.

"Honestly, Hermione, I'm fine."

Hermione didn't believe her for an instant. That she still hadn't looked up from her book was a dead give away that she was lying – and even if Hermione had been willing to distrust her own perceptions, that Harry had been so determined to bring Ginny out of herself at dinner, served to confirm her opinion that something was definitely wrong.

"Look, Ginny, you know you can always…you can always talk to me about this stuff. I mean, it makes perfect sense that…"

Ginny looked at her suddenly. "Maybe," she said, "I don't want to talk about it! I'm fine – I keep telling you all I'm fine, and none of you believe me. Maybe I'm just sick of people looking at me like I'm some stupid little girl who doesn't know any better. Maybe I'm _over_ it, even if none of you are!"

"Ginny…what?"

But Ginny had evidently said her piece, and she closed her book with a clap, saying, "I'm going to go sit with Dean. At least he _trusts_ me."

And before Hermione could even open her mouth, she was gone. Hermione saw her sit beside Dean, and suddenly Ginny was smiling, giggling and sitting as close to him as humanly possible. It didn't make any sense – none of it made any sense at all, not a single, solitary thing Ginny had said – and so, utterly baffled, Hermione turned back to her Potions notes.

It wasn't long though before she was interrupted – and when Ron sat beside her, and slid his leg against hers under the table, and it was all she could do to keep her shivers and hopes and moments of delight hidden, she had no more thoughts left to spend on Ginny.

Author's Note 

The inspiration for Ginny's struggles with Transfiguration was, I must admit, my own terrible difficulties with Higher Level Maths – so I can promise you, her frustration is very real!

Secondly, it may have become apparent in this chapter that I am taking this story in a particular direction – which might not be quite what was expected. It's my opinion however, that in _Half-Blood Prince_, a lot of things came home to roost for Ginny _and_ Hermione – and in my 'verse', that includes (but is not limited to) certain strains in their friendship. Hopefully these have been sufficiently hinted at in preceding chapters, because from here on out, those issues are going to be front and centre. It's not all going to be sweet, fluffy friendship, but…well I hope you'll all agree with me that, once we get to the end, all the struggle (and it's a hard year, in many ways, for both girls) will have been worth it.

(What a long Author's Note! I promise I won't inflict such another on you again.)


	22. Chapter TwentyTwo

Chapter Twenty-Two

Hermione checked her hair in the mirror one last time, ignoring Lavender's glance, which was not at all kindly. Lavender, in Hermione's considered opinion, could sod off. She'd been an utter nuisance since the beginning of the year – pestering Hermione with questions about Ron, and simpering even more than usual.

She tugged her jumper straight and pursed her lips; Hermione wanted to make a good impression at Slughorn's gathering, since almost no one she knew would be there. Harry had got himself detention with Snape and seemed…not happy about it, exactly, but something close to such a feeling. Finally she sighed and made her way down to the common room. It was comforting to know that Slughorn hadn't invited her for her looks.

Twirling her wand in her hands, Hermione tried to avoid Cormac McLaggen's gaze – she didn't regret Confunding him, since he was such a complete and irredeemable _git_, but…still. It wasn't like she wanted to talk to him.

Ginny, who'd been talking with Dean and Romilda, caught her eye. Her ponytail swung dramatically as she stood up, and Hermione saw Dean give the end of it a small tug, and couldn't help but smile. Dean really was a wonderful boy.

Ginny joined her after a moment or two, and said, "Are you going to Slughorn's thing?"

Hermione nodded, feeling slightly awkward. She and Ginny hadn't had a proper conversation since their…well, argument wasn't quite the right word, but it had certainly left Hermione feeling uncomfortable and worried. She hated fighting with her friends.

She looked at Ginny carefully. "I didn't realize you'd be going."

"Oh," Ginny said, "No doubt about that. Slughorn scooped me up the very first day remember – made me feel like a prize pet. I think I'd rather have had detention."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Not you as well."

Ginny looked blank. "What are you talking about?"

"He's got detention with Snape tonight, and I'd swear he was almost relieved about it."

Ginny shrugged. "Was that for his wonderful, deserves to be quoted on tee shirts, line?"

"It wasn't wonderful, Ginny! It was very stupid. Harry's got enough on his plate without adding to it like that!"

"Okay." Ginny said, sounding slightly stung.

Hermione could have bitten her tongue. The truth was, she'd wanted to lay into Harry himself about the stupid comment he'd made to Snape, but she'd learned by now that lecturing him just…wasn't a good idea. Harry got defensive very easily.

She took a deep breath and said, "Look…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…"

"Snapped at me in a way that's completely uncalled for?" Ginny asked. "Yeah. That's a bad thing to do. I would _never_ do a thing like that."

Hermione caught her eye, and a moment later the two of them were snorting with laughter. It made everything, all the awkward glances they'd been throwing at each other over the last two weeks, all the conversations they _hadn't_ had, seem so utterly ridiculous, that it was several minutes before either of them was sober.

Once they'd calmed down a little, Hermione said, "I saw you at the tryouts today. You were…really good."

Ginny grinned at her. "Yeah," she said, "I thought I heard someone yelling away in the stands, but…I had no idea who it could be?"

"I wasn't that bad, was I?"

"Well, you weren't on the same level as Lavender, if that's any consolation, but…yeah, you were pretty loud."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Lavender only screams so loudly because she can barely construct a sentence."

Ginny nodded seriously. "Harsh…but fair."

She maintained her solemn expression until Hermione couldn't stand it any more, and started to laugh again.

It took Hermione a moment to notice that Ginny was biting her lip, and she finally said a moment later, "Look, Hermione, this is probably…but…you do know that Lavender fancies Ron, right?"

Something in Hermione's stomach clenched horribly, and it took her a moment to say, "I wondered. She seemed even stupider this year if that's possible. How did you find out?"

"It's a long story," Ginny said. "You know Parvati helps Louise out sometimes…with Divination?"

Hermione shrugged – she hadn't known actually, but it wasn't altogether surprising.

"Well," Ginny continued, "Usually it's just the two of them – Parvati's all right, most of the time anyway – but one night Lavender came over, and Louise said she was just giggling and gushing over Ron and his hair for about six hours. Even Parvati looked a little sick of it."

"Wow." Hermione said. "You know, I've…_liked_ Ron for a while now, but I'm not sure I could ever myself gushing over his hair."

Ginny muttered something under her breath and said, "It happens a lot easier than you'd think, believe me?"

Hermione looked at her curiously, "I haven't heard you waxing lyrical over Dean's hair."

Ginny flushed slightly and said, "Not…Dean."

"Oh but…oh." Hermione said. "Right. Sorry." They were silent for a moment, and then, searching for a new subject, Hermione said, "Do you really mind being in the 'Slug Club'?"

Ginny shrugged. "I suppose not," she said. "At least I can tell Mum – it might make up for me not being a Prefect. You know, it'll be proof that I won't end up a wastrel, dependant on my brothers for everything."

"Your mum hasn't actually said that, has she?" Hermione asked, horrified.

"Oh. No." Ginny said. "But she doesn't have to – it's Mum. She can communicate these things just by speaking."

Hermione wondered how Mrs Weasley, who'd almost always seemed really nice, had managed to create two completely separate but similar complexes in her youngest children.

_That_ subject brought her round to Ron again, and she finally gave in to her weakest part, and said, "Ginny – you don't think…you don't think Ron would fancy Lavender…do you?"

Rolling her eyes, Ginny said, "I hope not. I can't have _two _of my brothers going out with complete twits." Seeing Hermione's expression she added, in a gentler tone, "I don't think so Hermione. Didn't you see the look on his face when you came down after the tryouts?"

"Yeah," Hermione said, "I did…I just, I keep telling myself I'm making it up. I don't want to get my hopes up and then have nothing happen. Again."

"Well," Ginny said, "I don't think you need to worry about that. I've seen it too, and I think…" Her whole face seemed to light up as she continued, "I think it's really going to happen for you two, Hermione."

Hermione was by now smiling so broadly…it was so wonderful to have _proof_ that someone else thought the same thing that she did, that someone else saw the same things, that someone else thought she had a chance… It was _Ron_ – and there were times, when he said something kind, or looked at her with that half-proud, half…in love look in his eyes, or put his hand on her back or her elbow…

It felt like the most important thing in the world. Oh, Hermione knew – she _knew_ – that it wasn't, but nothing else could make her heart thump, or her skin tremble, the way he did. There were times lately, when they were sitting or standing close together, when all she wanted to do was climb on top of him, kiss him and do…things. It almost scared her.

She'd liked kissing Viktor – it was nice, and sometimes it was even exciting, and there'd be this _tug_, deep in her belly – but it had been nothing like this. This was deep and gasping and sometimes it made her dizzy, she wanted it so much.

And it was happening.

They'd reached Slughorn's room, and just before they entered, Ginny said wickedly. "Remember, if it's _really_ boring we can always just spend the time looking at Blaise Zabini." At Hermione's quizzical look she added, "He might be an idiot and a git, but he is…very pretty."

Author's Note

I know it's been months and months since I've updated this story, and I'm very sorry. I'm afraid that, since the last chapter, I've had to deal with moving to another country and a family death, and between the two I simply haven't had much time for fic-writing. Hopefully, now that things are a little more calm, I'll be able to update more regularly.


	23. Chapter TwentyThree

Chapter Twenty-Three

Hermione pushed open the door to Myrtle's bathroom tentatively, waiting to see if any water would spill out. When there wasn't any, she breathed a sigh of relief and stepped inside, pulling the door closed behind her. "Ginny?" she said uncertainly. "Are you in here? Louise said…"

A moment later the door of the cubicle nearest her was flung open and she was hauled inside in a flurry of Hogwarts robes and red hair. "Quiet," Ginny said, "I don't want Filch to know I'm in here." Hermione nodded, still trying to catch her breath, as Ginny continued. "What did you need me for?"

"Well," Hermione said, "I wanted to tell you…what on earth are you doing?"

Ginny brushed several unruly locks of hair out of her eyes. "Well," she said, "I thought I was going to o out of my mind with all the work…especially all that stuff on Vanishing for McGonagall, and I couldn't even relax for one minute, not even with Dean, 'cause all I could think about was that blasted essay, so Louise said I should do something to relax, something a bit…you know, reckless."

"Okay," Hermione said, "I understand, but…what _are_ you doing – and why do you need a screwdriver?"

"Oh." Ginny said, "Right. Well, I thought that I'd send the twins a Hogwarts toilet seat. They promised me one for years and I never got one, so…."

"You're a bit of a weird one sometimes, do you know that?" Hermione said. "And the screwdriver?"

"Oh," Ginny said, "They never think of protecting against Muggle methods. If nothing else, Dad's obsession came in useful for that." Bending over to continue her work, she added. "What did you want to tell me about?"

"Oh," Hermione said, looking forward to Ginny's reaction. "Nothing much. I just asked Ron out. And he said yes." She shrugged nonchalantly.

Ginny straightened up and turned slowly to look at Hermione. "I'm sorry, could you say that again?"

Hermione couldn't help herself, she smirked as she said, "I asked Ron to Slughorn's Christmas party."

A moment later Ginny squealed piercingly and engulfed Hermione in a massive hug. "Oh my god, _Hermione!_ I can't believe it! I mean…of course I can believe it, I knew it was going to happen one of these days but…we could be sisters!"

Hermione stepped away from her sharply. "I'm sorry," she said, "What?"

Ginny flushed and continued. "What? I don't think that…I mean, I don't know what you're talking about."

"Ginny," Hermione said warningly.

Ginny hung her head, looking shamefaced. "I'm sorry," she said, "You know what I get like when I'm excited. Things just sort of…slip out – even when they _really_ shouldn't."

"I've noticed," Hermione said solemnly.

"Anyway," Ginny said, "Never mind that. Tell me everything."

"Okay!" Hermione said, giggling slightly. She couldn't keep herself from grinning, and she sat down and crossed her legs, ready to regale Ginny with her tale.

"Well," she said, "We were in Herbology, talking about Slughorn's thing, well, not so much talking as…"

"Arguing," Ginny said knowingly.

"Yeah," Hermione said. "Not that that's anything unusual. Anyway, while we were…talking, I mentioned that I'd been thinking of asking him, and…he said yes."

"_Hermione!_" Ginny said, beaming at her. "You realise what this means?"

"No," Hermione said, still smiling.

"Isn't it obvious?" Ginny said. "Ron's going out with _you_ now. You won, and Lavender Brown lost. So you don't have to listen to all her stupid cracks any more."

Hermione pondered this for a moment, chewing on her lower lip. "You're right," she said, "I did win, didn't I?"

Ginny nodded approvingly, and in a perfect imitation of her mother said, "And that'll teach that brazen hussy to mind her own business."

Hermione laughed loudly. "Brazen hussy, Ginny? Really."

"I'll have you know, Hermione, that I have a very high opinion of brazen hussies," Ginny said. "And Lavender is."

"I know," Hermione said, uncomfortably, "I just didn't expect crazy Stone Age-ness from you."

"Oh," Ginny said, "Right. That's not what I meant. I don't care about it like that, Hermione, it's just…brazen hussy is so fun to say." In a more serious tone, she added, "Besides Ron has been doing a good enough impression of a cave man to put me off it forever. I swear Hermione, you should see the looks he keeps giving Dean and me if we, you know, hold hands. It's ridiculous."

Hermione looked at her thoughtfully. "But it's just Ron being, well…_Ron_. Why even pay him any attention?"

Ginny sighed. "I thought you of all people would understand, Hermione. It's not about him being him, it's about Ron thinking that I can't take care of myself, that I need my big brother to protect me, to come in and make all my decisions for me, because _clearly_ I'm not capable of making them myself."

"Oh." Hermione said slowly. She knew that Ron's attitudes towards, well, sex, could be old-fashioned to the point of being ludicrous, but…she'd always just assumed he'd grow out of it. Not that it didn't bother her, because of course it did, but…she'd learned not to let it upset her. Choosing her words carefully, she said, "I never really saw it that way."

Ginny laughed, and it was not a pretty laugh. "Well…I suppose you wouldn't. Not like… It doesn't matter – I just can't stand that he thinks he's got some god-given right to meddle in my business…like his love-life has been anything wonderful."

"Wow. Thanks Ginny." Hermione said, honestly stung.

"Oh don't… I didn't mean it like that," Ginny said, her face contrite.

"Well maybe you should think a little more about what you do mean, Ginny. Like it or not, Ron's one of my best friends, not to mention…so, I don't want to listen to you bitching about him all the time, okay."

"I'm not…"

"Just forget it," Hermione said, staring at the floor moodily. Truthfully, she knew it wasn't just Ginny she was annoyed with – as glad as she was that she'd asked Ron out, and that they were finally going to get somewhere, it rankled that she'd had to do all the chasing.

"I really am glad you two are going out," Ginny said, "It's just…lately, it's like Ron and I don't get on at all. He's all…doing things or picking at me or…making faces when I stop to talk to you and Harry at dinner and…sometimes I think he doesn't even like me any more."

For a moment Ginny sounded near tears, and Hermione stared at her aghast. "What are you talking about? That's nonsense."

"No it's not," Ginny said. "I mean, yeah he puts up with me, but he always has this face on him, like I'm still the annoying little tag along, like…it doesn't matter. I just…I have my own friends anyway, so…"

"Oh, Ginny don't think that way."

"What way? It's fairly clear, Hermione. Anyway," Ginny said, still looking miserable, "That's why I'm not with Dean tonight. Between homework and…things…I'm not feeling the best. Some days you just feel a bit…down, and Smith didn't help."

"Zacharias Smith?" Hermione said.

"Yeah," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "He was harassing Luna in the library today – wanting to hear about the Ministry – and you what Luna's like…but just 'cause…he thinks he can get away with insulting her any time he wants, and…"

"What did you do?" Hermione said.

"Nothing much," Ginny said. "I just used that little charm we did the other day…you know the one that gives things legs…I used it on his book and Madam Pince do the rest."

"That's a bit rough, don't you think Ginny? She probably gave him detention for a month."

"Well," Ginny said, "Maybe he'll have learned something. Maybe that'll teach him not to go round attacking Luna any time he likes."

"Attacking?" Hermione said, incredulous at Ginny's use of such a term.

"He's a nasty piece of work, all right Hermione? I don't let people make other people feel…small, or…upset, if I can help it." Ginny lifted her chin defiantly as she spoke, and Hermione decided to let the subject drop for the moment.

"So," she said lightly, "You weren't in the mood for Dean."

"More like…Dean wasn't in the mood for me. All I wanted to do was hex something or…break something and…that's not Dean's style. He did bring a flower though, so…I feel like the worst girlfriend ever."

"Oh, I don't know," Hermione said sagely, "I don't think you can qualify as the worst girlfriend ever until you've bitten his head off after mating."

Ginny started and Hermione added, "Some species of spiders…do that."

"Oh. Right," Ginny said. "I thought you were talking about Blaise Zabini's mother."

"What is it with you and Blaise Zabini lately?" Hermione said.

"Nothing," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "He and Dean don't exactly see eye to eye, so…I hear about him a lot."

"Okay then," Hermione said, still feeling as though she'd missed part of the story.

Ginny stood up and grasped the toilet seat in one hand. "I'm going up to the Owlery to post this, if you want to come…"

Hermione felt rather worn out by this discussion, and so she said, "I should go work on my Runes, but…I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Ginny said, "And well done again!"

A moment later she was gone, and Hermione walked back to the common room, thinking things over as she went.


	24. Chapter TwentyFour

Chapter Twenty-Four

Hermione chewed on her hair, and made a note to thank Parvati for the reccommendation, as she read "A History of the Magic of the Indian Sub-Continent." The information was fascinating; though it was a terrible pity so much of the old magical infrastructure had been destroyed during the colonial period. She was just about to swing over the side of the bed and snatch a Chocolate Frog, when Lousie came through the door in a flurry.

"Hermione," she said, "You need to talk to Ginny."

"Why? What's the matter?"

"Oh, I don't know," Louise said desperately, "She had a fight with her brother, or something, or…I don't know but…you know how she gets. I'm scared she's going to blow up the bathroom or something, and then McGonagall will kill her."

"Okay," Hermione said, resigning herself to the necessity of closing her book. "Where is she?"

"The girls bathroom on this floor," Louise said. "Only, she won't listen to me, and I've got to keep Jules from cursing Ron, anyway. Between the wo of them, Hermione, I don't know know what to do."

Hermione grinned at the younger girl, who she'd always rather liked. As much as she liked Ginny, she could be rather volatile, and Jules was worse. Ginny made up for her occasional flashes of temper by being equally impassioned about fun and friendships, not to mention Quidditch. Jules, in comparison, was just plain moody, and Hermione had never really understood why the other two put up with her. Nonetheless, she felt a sneaking sympathy for Louise, caught between two such determined individuals.

As she approached the bathroom, she saw a cluster of girls, including Lavender Brown, whispering outside. Shaking her head at them, Hermione steeled herself, and opened the door. She heard it click behind her as she looked around the room.

There was nothing to be seen, but she could hear someone sobbing in one of the cubicles. "Ginny?" she said.

A moment later a door slammed open, and Ginny stumbled out. Her eyes were swollen with tears and her face was scarlet, but she straightened up when she saw Hermione. "So," she said, attempting to feign indifference, "Louise sent you in."

Hermione nodded, noticing that two of the mirrors in the room had shattered. She really needed to calm Ginny down. "What happened?" she said.

Ginny bent over the sink to wash her face, and had Hermione had to strain to hear her say, "Oh nothing. Ron just decided he thinks I'm a slut." A third mirror smashed as she spoke and Hermione winced sympathetically.

"I don't understand," she said, "How did this…"

Ginny's tears were still flowing copiously as she sat down on the floor. "It's a bit complicated," she said.

Summoning a roll of tissue from one of the toilets, Hermione handed Ginny a clump and said, "Just start from the beginning."

"Well," Ginny said, sniffling, "I was coming back from practise with Dean, and we were in the secret passage…and you know how hard it is to get any privacy round here – unless you want to do it in the common room, like Roger Davies – so we thought we'd…use the opportuntiy, and we…well, we started kissing and…" She swallowed and dabbed at her eyes.

"And what?" Hermione prompted.

"And, we were there, I think about ten, maybe fifteen minutes, and…" Ginny sniffed again, "Harry and Ron walked in with us."

She buried her face in her hands, and Hermione stroked her hair gently before saying, "And then what happened?"

"Oh," Ginny said angrily, "Ron started up, and I sent Dean away – I didn't want him hearing all that – and then he said he didn't want people calling his sister a slut, and I said…" Her voice trailed off, and she shrugged. "I don't remember what I said – I was so _angry_, Hermione, and then I started crying, because I was angry, and we were just screaming at each other, and Harry had to get between us, and…it was just _awful_."

"Harry was still there?" Hermione said curiously. As far as she could remember, Harry had always uncomfortable with confrontation – unless he started it.

"Yeah," Ginny said, tearfully. "He pushed Ron up against the wall to keep him from…hitting me or something."

"What!"

"I don't know," Ginny said. "I wish he hadn't been there, Hermione…it so _humiliating_. It's just…" She started crying again

Hermione was still reeling from the news that Harry and Ron had had what could be called an…altercation. Ron, admittedly, tended to swing his fists around more than she liked, but, with one noticeable exception, Harry had never been particularly quick to get in fights. And with _Ron_. It was just…unthinkable.

"It's going to ruin _everything_," Ginny said, and Hermione tried to focus on the present.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said. "You and Ron have had fights before."

"Not like this," Ginny said in a low voice, "Never like this. He's going to hate me now, and…why did Harry have to be there, Hermione?"

"Ginny, it doesn't matter…" Hermione started to say.

"Yes, it does! I was all…shouting and crying, and Harry's looking at me like he feels sorry for me, but really he thinks Ron's right, and he wants to beat Dean up for soiling his little sister and…I just…"

Ginny was losing all ability to be coherent, and Hermione said soothingly, "I'm sure Harry didn't think anything like that – it's hard to tell with a face like his."

Ginny shook her head, "No," she said, "I can _always_ tell – he's so obvious about it, Hermione – and I know he didn't want me kissing Dean. And Ron, oh God…Ron thinks I'm a slut, and I couldn't just walk away, I couldn't just ignore him, could I? No, I had to go in wand first, and rip him a new hole and…and I'm so sick of him, Hermione. Why does he have to be so…so impossible about things? He's my brother, he's supposed to care about…but all he ever does is pick at me, and call me names, and kick me out of the room and I can't…"

She looked more as miserable as Hermione had ever seen her, and trying to be comforting, Hermione said, "I'm sure he'll get over it in time, Ginny. He was just being…Ron."

"No, he wasn't being 'Ron' – he was being a sexist git and you know it, Hermione," Ginny snapped.

"I don't think Ron's…" Hermione said uncertainly.

"Well I do," Ginny said, standing up to pace the room. "He inhaled all that rubbish Mum used to read out in Witch Weekly like it was the gospel, and now he goes around spouting it all the time."

"Maybe," Hermione said, biting her lip, "Maybe he was just…thrown by seeing you – I mean no one wants to see their sister…or brother…kissing someone, do they – you hated it when it was Bill and Fleur."

"Oh come _on_, Hermione," Ginny said, "I might have thought they were nauseating, but I didn't go around accusing them of…and I walked in on Percy and Penelope when I was eleven and I didn't get one tenth as upset as Ron did when he's sixteen."

"I know Ginny, but…you have to be reasonable." Hermione said.

"Reasonable? What on earth is that supposed to mean?" Ginny said, looking angry. "That I should just put up with Ron calling me…that…because he's _Ron_, and he means well, and everything he does wrong should be forgiven because…well he's Ron isn't he?"

"He doesn't do that many things wrong," Hermione said defensively, "And he cares about you, you know that, and…you should be more supportive, Ginny. Ron's very insecure and…"

"Ron's insecure!" Ginny said, swinging her hair in a way that looked ominous. "So what, it's fine for him to go round treating everyone else like crap because of his delicate feelings."

"I'm not saying…Ginny, he doesn't have your confidence, he's not…hard, like you are…"

"Hard!" Ginny said. "I can't believe I'm hearing this. Ron acts like a…acts in a way that'd have you _screaming_ if he did it to you, and yet, you're standing here, defending him to me."

Hermione sighed patiently. "I'm just trying to make you see his point of view, Ginny – you should understanding. Ron's a good friend, and a good brother, and…"

"Well of course you'd say that," Ginny said, with a nasty expression on her face. "I should have known."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"You. I mean, yeah, we're friends and all, but when it comes to Harry and Ron, well that's on a whole other level, isn't it? So much on another level, that you're…you're just like Ron, you don't want me around when you're with them, you don't want…to share. And, god forbid, if I ever get in a fight with Ron that you should take _my_ side. I mean…I'm only your 'girl friend', I'm only the one you talk to about 'boys' and hair and stupid things like that – that's what you think – I'm not _important_ the way they are. You don't really think girls make good friends at all, in fact."

"Ginny that's not…"

"Don't even start, Hermione." Ginny said. "You know what…I think I'm going to go talk to Jules – at least she sides with me some of the time."

And with that she stormed out. Hermione heard the girls outside burst into conversation a moment later, and she tried desperately not to listen. Part of her wanted to run after Ginny and smack her silly, because everything she'd said had been so…utterly and completely wrong, so stupid and offensive that Hermione was having trouble finding the words for her feelings. She'd been nothing but a good friend to Ginny – keeping her secrets, supporting her relationships, going out of her way to spend time with her – and at the first sign of trouble, Ginny threw it all in her face.

Another part though, felt horribly guilty and squirmy about the whole thing, and thinking back, Hermione realised she hadn't handled the discussion well at all. Defending Ron hadn't been an especially wise move – she'd let her instincts as a friend take over at the worst possible moment. She didn't understand how Ginny could have got things so confused though – it wasn't that she didn't want to share Harry and Ron with Ginny, it was that she didn't want to share Ginny with them, but somehow, that hadn't come across.

She had a great deal to think about – though funnily enough, having fought with Ginny, Hermione could no longer worry quite as much about Ron and Harry fighting. Shaking her head, she muttered _Reparo_ at the broken mirrors, and took a breath before facing the gauntlet of girls outside.

Author's Note

I can almost hear the knives being sharpened. The argument between Ron and Ginny is one of the more controversial parts of _Half-Blood Prince_, and here I've necessarily given a rather one-sided view of it. Ron's sexism (a simple word for something rather more complex) seems to have been knocked away by the end of the book, and thank goodness for that – but let it be known, I have a lot more sympathy for him in that scene than Ginny does, though I think she is essentially right.

As for the fight between Hermione and Ginny, well…hopefully I've done my job and you'll have seen this coming – I've tried to lay the groundwork for it as best I can. The Ron-Ginny fight is one of the 'instigating incidents' in _Half-Blood Prince_ – it dramatically alters almost all the relationships among the core four (except, despite Hermione's worries, Harry-Ron), and in this story, that includes the friendship between Ginny and Hermione.

I do apologise for such a miserable Christmas chapter though.


	25. Chapter TwentyFive

Chapter Twenty-Five 

Hermione tried her best to maintain her composure as she stared at her Transfiguration text book. Ron had…had… In front of the entire class and…now he was preening himself, and Parvati and…_Lavender_ were giggling, and tossing their hair and…

She recited Transfiguration formulae to herself, trying desperately to keep her lower lip from trembling, or tears from spilling down her cheeks. It was as if all the misery of the past weeks was welling up inside her, and Harry looking at her as though he expected her to explode wasn't helping.

Everything had been so awful – she had to watch Ron with…Lavender, every single night, doing all the things – kissing and laughing and holding hands – that he was _supposed _to be doing with her. He was supposed to be going to Slughorn's party with her, he was supposed to be going out with her and…

Hermione had no idea what had gone wrong – one minute she'd been wondering what she should wear to Slughorn's party and not one hour later, Ron had been tongue-wrestling with _her_. Hermione felt as though she'd been stabbed in the heart every time she saw them together, and she wanted to _hit_ Ron. She'd asked him out….she'd made her feelings about him absolutely plain and he'd just…

She'd heard Lavender whispering about her canaries to Parvati – apparently Ron had said they hurt. Well she didn't care – she was _glad_ – she'd do it again given half the chance. Ron had made her think that maybe they'd…and now she had to listen to Lavender simpering every night about what a good kisser he was, and how much he liked to…touch her, and how his hands tended to wander, and…

She was so angry it was hard to breathe sometimes – it'd clench up in her gut until she wanted to throw up – except she wouldn't throw up, horrible, weak, wrenching tears would spill out and she have to hide in the girl's bathrooms. Lately she felt a lot more sympathy for Cho Chang.

It just hurt _so _much, and it wouldn't seem to _stop_ hurting, no matter what she did. She tried not to think of it – tried to put it out of her mind and concentrate on schoolwork or talking to Harrry (and he really was trying his best) but it was always there – a retarding weight on all of her thoughts, and it made her _miserable_.

She had no one to talk to, not really – although he meant well, there was no _way_ she would talk to Harry about Ron, and Ginny was…well she and Ginny weren't speaking. They'd been not speaking for several weeks, and Hermione knew it was partially her fault. In the days after the Quidditch match, when Ginny had tried to talk to her – had left Arnold and chocolate on her bed, and tried to join her for breakfast – Hermione had been too raw, too angry at the things Ginny had said, to let her help.

Eventually Ginny gave up, and so there had been silence between them ever since. Hermione hated it, but at the same time…there was no way she was going to break the ice. She had been there for Ginny through all her woes – with Harry, and Michael, and Dean, and…Tom Riddle – and who was Ginny to just turn away when Hermione needed her most? To just toss it all away because Hermione had defended a boy _she_ liked when he'd done something stupid – like Ginny hadn't made excuses for Michael in the past. Every time she thought about it, Hermione could feel herself becoming angry, and in a way it was almost a relief – while Ginny had hurt her and made her furious, there wasn't any betrayal between them. _That_ was the thing that stung about Ron – Hermione liked to think that she could have accepted him having a girlfriend (not that she'd have _liked_ it) if he hadn't already promised to go out with her.

Once the bell rang, she rushed out of McGonagall's classroom as quickly as possible, and made for the nearest bathroom. In a trice she had barricaded herself n a cubicle and buried her head in her knees.

Ron had just tossed her aside for some…bimbo, some brainless twit (who wouldn't even be brainless if she had the sense to care about something other than boys, which was especially aggravating.) He'd chosen Lavender, because she was blonde and pretty, and she put Ron before every other thing, even her friends. Which was what he wanted – not sense, not cleverness or loyalty, just shiny hair and a willingness to fluff his ego. And because Hermione wouldn't do that, because she had priorities other than Ron, because she treated him like a normal person and not a god, because she actually used her brain and had a modicum of self-respect and was…_difficult_ – she wasn't good enough.

She wasn't good enough.

Her tears flowed faster than ever, and the skin of her cheeks felt raw, and Hermione rubbed at it viciously with tissue. She was _not_ going to cry over Ron again, she was going to get up and walk into the Great Hall with her head held high and show him just what he was missing…any minute now.

Standing up, she straightened her robes and opened the cubicle door. Catching sight of herself in one of the mirrors was less than pleasant – her face was red, her eyes were bloodshot, and her hair looked as though she'd been given an electric shock. Sighing, Hermione went to wash her face, hoping to undo at least some of the damage.

Once she was done she looked up to see what effect, if any, it had had, and jumped when she saw Luna Lovegood in the mirror.

"Hello Hermione."

"Oh," Hermione said, wiping her face with her sleeve, "Hello."

Luna adjusted one of her radish earrings in the mirror. "How are you?" She said.

"I'm…" To her horror, Hermione found herself welling up again, and she could barely make herself comprehensible when she said, "I'm fine thanks."

"Really?" Luna said mildly. "It's just Ginny told me she thought you were having a hard time, and that she's worried about you, and…" Putting her head to one side she surveyed Hermione carefully, "You don't look fine to me."

"No, really," Hermione said, wiping her eyes with a tissue, "I'm all right, I just…I had a fight with Ron, and…"

"Oh," Luna said, "I understand. Ron can be a bit…cruel sometimes. He's very nice, but sometimes he laughs at things that are a bit mean."

Hermione stared at Luna, who maintained her appearance of calm. She continued in the same even tone. "I don't think he means to be, he's just…got an eye for things, weaknesses I mean…like a Beaky Bird."

"A beaky bird?" Hermione said, bracing herself for what would come next.

"Yes," Luna said, "A Beaky Bird. Their beaks are made of pure diamond, and when they do their mating dance they'll peck, peck, peck at each other until one of them gives in, but sometimes…neither one gives in, and then they both end up bleeding." She added seriously. "That's why Beaky Birds are so rare – magizoologists have yet to study them, because so many die in the mating process."

"Really?"

"Yes," Luna said earnestly. "There are only eighteen every hundred years, but they're favourites pets of the Order of Sesame because they can open any door and…"

Hermione shook her head; there was no way she could continue this conversation and not loose her temper at the…nonsense Luna was spouting. "Thanks Luna," she said, "But I should probably go."

"Oh. Okay then," Luna said, putting an arm around her as they walked out the door – Luna was surprisingly tall. "But why don't you go flying – Ginny always says flying makes her feel better."

Hermione hardly noticed what Luna was saying, or that Harry had come to find her, she was so busy thinking of other things. She was tired of moping around, crying in toilets and being cheered up by Luna Lovegood – of dreading every prefect meeting and every patrol and even being in the same _room_ as Ron. It was time to do something.

It was surprisingly easy to get Cormac McLaggen to ask her out – the work of a full five minutes of eyelash batting and one strategic touch of his arm. Admittedly after spending nearly two hours hiding behind Professor Slughorn and the equally enormous man from the Ministry, in order to avoid being mauled, Hermione was starting to wonder if it was really worth it, but she only had to remember the expression on Ron's face to be well satisfied with herself.

Unfortunately towards the end of the evening Hermione got caught in plain sight, right in front of the punch bowl with Harry and Luna, and with no escape possible, and Cormac looming into view. Just as he opened his mouth, no doubt to ask why she'd been avoiding him (which was, Hermione had to admit, quite rude) Ginny popped in between them.

"Hi Cormac," she said, with the kind of confidence few could summon around Cormac McLaggen, as he was the size of a gorilla. "You don't mind if I borrow Hermione for a minute do you?"

"I…"

"It's just…Dean and I had a bit of a fight, and I was hoping you could talk to him – he really looks up to you, you know, and…you can explain to him how girls think, and feel, since you understand them so well."

Hermione gaped at the act Ginny was putting on for Cormac – if she'd thought her own flirting was blatant, she'd been well-corrected. Amazingly though, he actually seemed to swallow it, and a moment later he was lumbering off in Dean's direction. Harry and Luna looked at Ginny, awed, and Hermione said, "Thanks."

"No problem," Ginny said, grinning. "Honestly, _McLaggen_ Hermione? What were you thinking?"

Hermione's lip curled, and she was about to unleash a few choice words of her own, when Harry said, "Did you and Dean really have a fight?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, he just…I convinced him to do me a good turn and distract Cormac…speaking of whom, we should get going Hermione."

Harry's mouth hung open for a moment, in a comical expression of…something, and Ginny took the opportunity to say goodbye to Luna and escort Hermione from the room.

As they walked down the corridor, Hermione stared at her, and after a moment or two Ginny said, "So…what are you doing for Christmas?"

"What are you doing?" Hermione said, incredulous.

"I was…I was doing you a favour?" Ginny said, lifting her chin in a movement Hermione had come to know well.

"And…what made you think I needed anyone to…'do me a favour' as you put it?" Hermione said.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe that you looked like a deer in headlights all night long. I'm not blind."

"Look…" Hermione said, "I don't want to fight." This was in fact a complete lie; she couldn't help but feel that nothing would make her feel better than a good long fight at the present moment…but fighting with Ginny, though it might actually be cathartic, wouldn't actually help in the long run – with Ron she might have had some chance of fixing things through a nice, loud blow-up, but Ginny…it just didn't work that way.

"Okay," Ginny said. After a moment she added. "Why were you going out with McLaggen – he's a pig with hands, everyone knows that?"

Hermione sighed. "All right," she said, "But it sounds…I wanted to make Ron jealous."

"I sort of assumed," Ginny said, "But _McLaggen_ – this why you need to listen to more gossip Hermione. Did it work at least?"

Hermione shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know – I don't really care any more." She felt horribly tired, and for the first time almost, she was actively looking forward to going home, to getting away from Hogwarts and everyone in it.

Their conversation lapsed into silence as they approached the portrait hole, and Hermione almost thought they were finished when, just as they went up the stairs to the girl's dormitories, Ginny said, "Hermione?"

"Yes," she said, thinking longingly of her bed, and hoping Lavender wouldn't be up, telling more stories of Ron's wonderful tongue.

"Ron did know…about you and Krum, right?"

"Know what?" Hermione said, irritated at being kept from sleep.

"That you were going out with him?"

Thinking back, and annoyed at having to, Hermione said, "I…never actually _told_ him, if that's what you mean – like you with Michael…I didn't want him to know, I thought it would seem…"

"Yeah," Ginny said, chewing on her lower lip, "It's just…"

"It's just what?"

"I think maybe he didn't know."

Ginny looked embarrassed, and Hermione realised that, once again, she was going to have to pry a secret out of her. "Why?"

"Well, you see…I don't remember exactly, but…when I had that…fight, with Ron, I think I said something like…Harry and Hermione have gone out with people, or snogged people or…something, so he shouldn't treat me like I'm so different – I think. I think I said something like that, I'm not sure…I don't remember much of what I said after Auntie Muriel….anyway…it's possible I might have really loused things up on you."

Deciding to ignore the reference to Ginny's extended family, Hermione said, "So…so you're saying the reason…the reason Ron is with that…the reason Ron decided he didn't want to go out with me, he wanted someone…the reason for all of this is because you _made fun_ of him?"

Ginny looked helpless, and suddenly very small, as she said, "I…I thought he knew. Everyone knew – it never even struck me that… If I'd known…"

Hermione stared at her, so furious with Ginny for saying it, and Ron for reacting to it, and with herself, for still caring, for letting it hurt so much, after everything Ron had done, after _Lavender_, that for a moment she considered reaching for her wand. Ginny looked so contrite though, and sounded so sincere when she said, "I'm really sorry Hermione, really…I shouldn't have…"

Hermione cut her off sharply. "I'm not talking to you."

"Hermione I…"

"I'm going to bed."

And with that, she turned on her heel, and went into the sixth year girl's dormitory.


	26. Chapter TwentySix

Chapter Twenty-Six

Hermione spent most of the train journey to Hogwarts staring out of the window. In some ways it was good to return to school – after all these years, she felt slightly out of place in the Muggle world, though it was easier now that she could do magic at home. And she'd missed Harry – it felt truly strange not to speak to him every day. He _had_ sent her a letter with her Christmas present, but as much as she loved him, expressing himself in writing was not one of Harry's strengths.

Ginny had included a short (very short) note with Harry's present, and it had only served to remind Hermione of all the reasons she _didn't_ want to go back. She'd done her utmost over Christmas not to mope – she'd read a dozen books, and gone bowling with her Dad, and shopping with her Mum, and watched films on the telly – but try as she might, it was hard to forget that she was fighting with Ginny and Ron, that Lavender was bond to keep lording it over her, and that she wasn't doing as well as she should in Potions.

Even hours after she'd returned to Hogwarts, when she was tramping back up the hill from Hagrid's and getting her feet wet in the snow, Hermione still didn't know what to do. She didn't want to keep fighting with Ginny – aside from everything else, she'd been horribly lonely without her – but she was afraid…perhaps too much had happened.

Ginny hadn't meant to let it slip about Viktor, Hermione believed that, and truthfully, it wasn't as though Hermione had never done anything similar. Ron was the person who'd chosen to run off with another girl – for no good reason – and it wasn't fair to blame Ginny, or even Lavender, for that.

Not fair, but satisfying. If Hermione blamed Ginny, blamed Lavender, blamed herself even, it meant that Ron was still the wonderful, flawed but wonderful, boy she'd fallen in love with. The boy who would never, ever hurt her. It was an incredibly comforting idea, except for the part where it clearly wasn't true.

Ron might still be that wonderful boy – as unlikely as it might seem at present – but he had chosen Lavender. Whatever his reasons had been – however stung he'd been by learning about Viktor, or her comments on his Quidditch playing, Ron had still made the choice, and the sooner Hermione accepted it, the happier she'd be.

Her resolution to be sensible and stiff upper lippish almost broke when she saw Ron again, saw him being mauled by Lavender, but she tossed her head and ignored him. It was all his fault, and there was no way Hermione could _ever_ forgive him, no matter how much he tried to pretend nothing had happened, or what Harry said.

She was so preoccupied with stifling her anger at Ron that she scarcely noticed Ginny's reunion with Dean – she wanted to talk to Ginny on her own in any case. It was only when Harry described his meeting with the Minister, and Percy, that Hermione realised why she might seem slightly downcast.

It was after ten by the time Hermione went up to the girls' dormitories and she knocked on Ginny's door uncertainly. It was Jules who answered, and Hermione quailed a little at the look on her face.

"Oh," Jules said, "It's you." She looked at Hermione sternly. "I'm going down to meet Seamus, but Louise is asleep, and she better not be woken up by anyone fighting."

"All right," Hermione said, inwardly both amused and slightly horrified. She had a suspicion that people – Parvati for instance – thought she and Jules were rather similar, and it was a sobering mirror to look into.

"Ginny's unpacking," Jules added, and Hermione took that as her cue to enter. Ginny's unpacking, it had to be said, was not entirely dissimilar in effect from a small tornado. There were faded Hogwarts robes all over the floor and Hermione stepped over them carefully. When Ginny saw her, she looked surprised and sat down on her bed heavily. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," Hermione said, sitting on the other end of the bed. "I know…"

"I'm a bit surprised to see you," Ginny said, setting her jaw in an…unpromising way.

"I'm sorry, all right," Hermione said. "I know I got angry, and …but could we just forget it ever happened? I miss you."

Ginny sighed and said seriously. "I don't know Hermione – I mean, things were said, and I'm not sure…of course we can."

A moment later Ginny hugged her and said, "I'm so glad things are back to normal."

"Yeah," Hermione said, though for some reason she still felt slightly awkward.

"So," Ginny said, "How was your Christmas?"

"Oh not too bad. Kind of quiet – which was good, actually. Good to have a break."

"Yeah; I know what you mean."

Ginny looked momentarily sad, and Hermione said, "Yeah, Harry mentioned…Percy showed up on Christmas Day. Was it bad?"

"I threw food at him," Ginny said, looking shamefaced. "I shouldn't have – Mum got all upset. I was just so _angry_…" She put her head to one side contemplatively. "At least Harry said the right thing – he's great with her."

Hermione noticed a stuffed animal – a tiger – sitting on Ginny's pillow. "Did Dean give you that?"

"Oh," Ginny said, startled. "No. Harry gave it to me, for Christmas. A stuffed Kneazle and broom compass – I think he thinks I've a split personality. Rupert is _sweet_ though."

"You called a tiger – Kneazle, I mean, sweet?" Hermione said.

"Yeah. Why not?"

From experience with Hagrid, Hermione chose not to pursue this and said, "So, what _did_ Dean get you?"

Ginny cringed and slowly lifted a chain out from under her blouse. She was wearing a locket – a heavy silver locket, with a large pink jewel on it.

"Oh," Hermione said, struggling for words. "That's…pretty."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "You haven't seen the worst yet. Listen." She pried the locket open with a fingernail – there was a picture of Dean inside, and when she opened it all the way, Celestina Warbeck's latest hit, a cover version of 'You Are My Sunshine' started playing.

"Wow," Hermione said flatly. "To be honest – I expected better. I thought Dean had taste."

"I know," Ginny said, stroking Rupert's head absently, "And I thought you couldn't go wrong with jewellery, but…I suppose you win some, you lose some, right?"

"Yeah," Hermione said. "And besides – Harry learned to get you a decent present – no hair ribbons this year. Dean will too." Somehow it didn't sound as comforting as she'd intended.

"Yeah," Ginny said, "Look, can I tell you something, and you won't tell me I'm _completely_ crazy?"

"Sure." Hermione said, wondering what was coming, though if Ginny stuck to her usual habits it'd be at least half an hour before she found out.

"Okay," Ginny said. "Well…before I start, I should be…honest."

"That's a first," Hermione cracked.

Ginny smiled, but continued regardless. "Look," she said, "I know this sounds…awful, but…the truth is…I didn't really miss Dean over Christmas. I mean, I do like him – and I _really_ like kissing him – but…I didn't miss him. In fact – it was kind of a relief not to have to play the doting girlfriend all the time."

"Okay," Hermione said. "That's not hard to understand; sometimes the people you like the most are the hardest to be around."

"Maybe," Ginny said, "And I know I have something really good with Dean – it is fun – so…try to keep the 'Ginny I have to tell yous' to a minimum."

"Of course," Hermione said, honestly intrigued now.

"Right – look, I know how this sounds, but…Harry was with us this year, for Christmas, and…he was really great, right, I mean, he was actually wonderful, and you know the weirdest thing? He talked to me all the time – like the day I decorated the sitting room, he was just….there, helping me make the paper chains and holding the ladder when I was pinning them up and…telling really stupid jokes. He even…on New Year's Eve Ron and Bill were playing chess and we were watching and then, next thing I know, Harry's waking me up, cause it's almost midnight, and I was after falling asleep on his shoulder."

She paused, and looked at Hermione for the first time in several minutes. Trying to sound neutral, Hermione said, "So what do you think?"

"I know it's astonishingly unlikely and all that, and will probably never, _ever_ happen, and…who knows, maybe he does fancy Luna – it's not impossible – but, do you think…Harrymightlikeme?"

Hermione opened her mouth, and then swallowed, trying to choose her words carefully. "Listen Ginny," she said, "I'm not saying – look, I'm hardly an authority on this stuff, but…you and Harry are _friends_ now, so…"

"Yeah," Ginny said determinedly, and speaking quite fast. "You're right. I was just being silly. It was just…Fred was saying something to me, and I thought…maybe it wasn't completely impossible, but…it doesn't matter, anyway."

"Ginny, I didn't mean it like that," Hermione said, but Ginny interrupted her.

"I'm just worried that…that it could make things difficult with Dean, since they sleep in the same room and everything."

"I know," Hermione said, not believing her for an instant, "And you're probably right that it could make things awkward, but…I wouldn't want you to…get your hopes up because…Harry has an awful lot to think about at the moment – I think he's got enough to do to keep his head above water."

"Yeah, I know." Ginny shrugged, looking away from Hermione. "Lots of important stuff that I know nothing about – I get it. I shouldn't have let myself…can we pretend I didn't mention it?"

"Ginny-"

"It's fine – really. Dean's looking forward to his next Quidditch match you know – and I'm doing better at Transfiguration now. I figured out Vanishing just before Christmas."

"Well, what do you know," Hermione said, "Hard work paid off."

Ginny glared at her, and hit her gently in the face with a pillow. Hermione lay back on the bed. She sighed and said, "I wish I could sleep in here."

Ginny looked sympathetic, and lay down beside her. "Is it really that bad?" she said.

Hermione felt an actual tear slip out. "Parvati tries," she said, "And she's not actually all that bad, it's just…I feel like tearing my ears off every time her and Lavender get going."

Ginny held Hermione's hand and said, "I wish you _could_ sleep in here, but… McGonagall wouldn't approve. And you'd have to share with Jules and…I have this feeling you and Jules would clash."

"All you have to do to clash with Jules is breathe," Hermione said tartly.

"Yeah, but she does have some redeeming features – you fight with her enough, you find them out."

"I hope so," Hermione said. "For your sake."

After a moment or two of silence Ginny asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Hermione said, almost crying. "It's nice to have a break from thinking about it every single second so…maybe later."

"Okay," Ginny said understandingly, "But you know you can, right? Anytime you want."

"Yeah," Hermione said, "I know."

She almost started to cry at this point, and Ginny hugged her before saying something suitably distracting. "So…is Harry still driving you mad with Potions?"

Though she hadn't 'unburdened her soul', or even mentioned Ron's name, somehow Hermione felt a lot better when she went to bed that night.


	27. Chapter TwentySeven

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Ginny, who'd been working on her own all evening, slumped down between Harry and Hermione on the sofa. Leaning her head on Hermione's shoulder she said, "Do it now. Put me out of my misery."

Hermione, who'd been busy glaring at Harry's stupid Potions book, smiled and said, "What's the matter?"

Rather than just her eyes, Ginny seemed to roll her entire body as she said, "Transfiguration. _Again_. It's the worst subject in the world."

Hermione shook her head at her, amused in spite of herself. "That's not true," she said, meaning to continue.

Somewhat to her surprise Harry added, "It can't be as bad as Divination."

Ginny shook her head at him, "Think I did Divination? Unlike _some_, Harry, I learn from my older brother's mistakes."

He grinned, not seeming in the least bit insulted by her words, and said, "So you've never tried to predict the future then?"

"No," Ginny said, "But I bet I can. Give me your hand."

Straightening up, Ginny took Harry's left hand in hers, and leaning over it, said in a spooky voice, "I predict you will be conked on the head by a Bludger."

Harry shook his head, still smiling, and said, "You can't see that on my hand."

"Well," Ginny said, "I don't have to." She turned back to face Hermione, startling her a little, she'd been so fascinated by their interaction, and said, "You should see him, Hermione – he was hit twice last week at practice. I don't know what's the matter with you, Harry – I had this impression that you knew how to fly!"

Harry laughed, but Hermione couldn't help but think he looked slightly embarrassed, and he took his hand back, saying, "So what's this about Transfiguration?"

Ginny moaned. "Did you _have_ to remind me, Harry?

He shrugged and Ginny continued, "It's going to make me lose my mind – and it will be slow and painful, and Mum will kill me."

Hermione attempted to inject a sane perspective to all this drama. "Ginny," she said, "You told you were averaging at E now – that's doing really well, considering…"

"That I was barely scraping past before?" Ginny said knowingly.

"Well…yeah," Hermione said, not wanting to make a point of it.

Ginny sighed. "You're right," she said, "And I am doing better – McGonagall doesn't know what to do with the new and improved Ginny Weasley, studious version, but…it's still not enough."

"Enough for what," Harry said, looking curious.

"To be a Healer I have to get an O – in Charms and Herbology and Potions and Defence _and_ Transfiguration. It's impossible!"

Hermione shook her head again – she was becoming a little tired of having to reason away Ginny's academic insecurities. "You can do it, Ginny. You're already getting Os in Charms and Defence – "

"But they're my good subjects, Hermione, not – "

"And you've got so much better at Transfiguration and Potions, and you only need to brush up on the theoretical side of Herbology, and you'll be fine."

"Maybe you're right," Ginny said with a sigh, "I just…I wish I had your confidence, Hermione."

Hermione allowed herself a little private amusement at this remark – Ginny didn't know the half of it, didn't know how terrified Hermione was whenever results came out – and said, "Are you really that tired?"

"I'm _exhausted_ Hermione – I've working on that blasted essay all night, and…well, at least it's finished now."

"Perhaps I could – "

"No!" said Ginny, emphatically. "I need to do this myself – I need to know that I can get the marks without anyone looking over my shoulder or…correcting my mistakes."

"Yes but… Ginny, I'm only trying to help," Hermione said, feeling stung.

"I know you are," Ginny said earnestly, "You and Dean both, and I do appreciate it, but sometimes I just have to do things on my own, all right."

"Okay," Hermione said, knowing that the words 'don't say I didn't warn you' were implicit in her tone. She really was trying not to nag any more, but…

Ginny smiled at her, and added, "I'm probably going to fail History of Magic at this rate anyway, so at least the twins won't be totally disappointed."

Harry nudged her gently, and said, "Well, you'll be in good company."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Are you really good company, Harry? I don't know… Still," she added in a more serious tone, "I might try that excuse on Mum when the marks come out. You never know, she mightn't be too annoyed, if you failed it too – it's not like she really cares about History of Magic anyway."

"What marks _do_ you think you'll get?" Hermione asked, curious now.

Ginny yawned and then said, "I'll _pass_ Runes, probably not much more, and I should do well enough in Astronomy, unless I fall asleep, and I'll be all right in Care. Jules is brilliant at Care, did you know that?"

Hermione shrugged and said, "So she has some redeeming features."

"Shut it," Ginny said. "Didn't you hear about Jules?"

"No," Hermione said, not honestly particularly interested.

Ginny rolled her eyes at her tone and said, "She had to help me separate Dean and Blaise Zabini _again_ the other day."

"Why were Dean and Zabini fighting?" Hermione said, surprised she hadn't heard about this already.

"I don't _know_," Ginny said, "Some stupid boy thing. Blaise has a problem with me for some reason…"

Harry coughed loudly – suspiciously – as she said this, and Ginny conjured him a glass of water before continuing, "And anyway, any time he sees me with Dean, he starts on at me…and Dean's got some idea that he has to 'protect my honour' or something, like I couldn't handle Zabini myself if he'd just… You know, do you mind if I don't talk about this? I'm getting sick of it to be honest."

"Sure," Hermione said. "Don't you think you should tell Ron though?"

Ginny stared at her. "You think I want Ron to be even _more_ over-protective? No good can come of that – we're both still smarting from the last time."

"You're right," Hermione said, "I'm actually not sure what good _Won-won_ could do in this situation."

Hearing her tone, Harry vaulted off the sofa as quickly as he possibly could and said, "I've…to get to work on that…charm from yesterday."

He was gone before either girl could say anything, and Ginny looked at Hermione expressively. "Annoying you, is he?"

Hermione made an angry sound and said, "He wants to pretend everything's back to normal, like he didn't…like he didn't go off with Lavender when, when he was supposed to be with me, like it's something I can just forget about. I could _kick_ him."

"I'm really sorry, Hermione," Ginny said. "I know I haven't been…round much."

"You've been busy," Hermione said charitably, "The OWLs take up a lot of time." In truth she knew there was another reason – she and Ginny were still somehow, uncomfortable, talking one on one.

"Yeah," Ginny said, "But I still should've…"

"Ginny – forget about it, all right."

Her tone was perhaps rather harsh, for Ginny stared at her for a moment or two before saying, in a strangely bright tone of voice, "How have the Apparition lessons been going?"

Determined to put the moment of tension behind them, Hermione said, "Oh, they're all right. Susan Bones is really good."

"You know," Ginny said, "Demelza was asking me if Harry fancied her."

"_Demelza_ wanted to know this, did she?"

"Yes," Ginny said pointedly, "_She_ did. She's friends with Romilda Vane, and she wanted to know if….she thought I'd know. Which I don't."

"Well," Hermione said, "You can tell _Demelza_ that no he doesn't. Unless he's been hiding…much better than Harry has ever been able to hide anything."

"I will," Ginny said, standing up sharply, "But for now, I'm going to bed. I've had just about enough for today."

Hermione let her go regretfully, wishing she'd been able to hold her tongue. She'd been holding her anger in so much recently – not exploding at Ron for betraying her, and then acting like it was something they could just sweep under the carpet, not nagging Harry about his book – that perhaps it was coming out in other, even less appropriate, ways.


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Hermione said goodnight to Harry and headed for her dormitory, her footsteps clattering loudly on the stairs. She didn't want him to worry about her; he'd been looking concerned all day, and dealing with his feelings would only make her own worse.

Still, when Hermione reached her door she realised she just couldn't face Lavender. She was exhausted and sad and she hated herself just a little and…the last thing in the world she wanted to listen to was Lavender's nonsense.

Ron could have died.

Not could have – would have. If Harry hadn't…

Hermione sat down on the top step, slumping her head against the wall and trying not to cry. Ron could have _died_.

She swallowed a sob and hugged herself. He was going to be all right – he _was_ – it was just…

He could have died, and Hermione had spent months, not talking to him, raging at him, hating him for all the ways he'd hurt her and betrayed her and 'done her wrong' and… Ron could have died thinking she hated him.

Thinking that she hated him.

She'd been so awful. She hadn't even been _friends_ with him. She'd let their friendship – the friendship she'd so often told herself was the most important thing in her life – she'd let it slip away so easily.

Only Ron hadn't. Ron had still wanted to be friends – had wanted to patch up their argument, but of course she hadn't let him. Hermione had been so angry, so determined to be injured, so certain she was the victim and was thus _owed_ more than Ron's fumbling apology, that she'd ignored him and rebuffed his every attempt to 'make up.'

She hadn't even bought him a birthday present.

Hermione rested her head on her knees, trying desperately not to fall apart. She didn't know why she'd done it. Why had she clung so furiously to her anger? Why couldn't she have just let it go? In the end, in the very end of it all, what mattered was that she loved Ron, that he was her _friend_ and she loved him. Even if he had hurt her – even if he had betrayed her – he was sorry. He was sorry, and he hadn't wanted to fight any more, but she…she had been _right_ hadn't she? She had been in the right, and that was what mattered wasn't it?

Not feelings, not friendship, not the people who loved her. Being right. That was the most important thing in the world, and everything else could go hang. She was so _hateful_.

"Er-my-knee."

Hermione lifted her head as she heard someone coming up the stairs, hoping desperately that it was someone who'd have…the kindness to just walk on by.

But it was Ginny. Her face was deathly pale and she'd clearly been biting her nails. She looked exhausted, but she tried to smile. Hermione couldn't return it – the moment she met Ginny's eyes she burst into tears.

A moment later Ginny was sitting beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and offering her a tissue. It was several minutes before Hermione could even say a word, and when she did manage to speak it was horribly incoherent.

Mostly it was Ginny who spoke, telling her that Ron was going to be all right, that he was fine, that Harry saved him…

Finally, when Hermione had managed to stop crying, had managed to control the hitch in her voice and the sound of her breathing, she said, "Did you get to talk to him?"

Ginny shook her head. "He was still asleep – Madam Pomfrey says he'll wake up tomorrow."

Hermione nodded, and Ginny said, "You can go visit him then."

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know," she said, "Maybe I shouldn't…maybe he won't want to see me."

Ginny stared at her. "Don't be stupid, Hermione."

"But I've been so _awful_ to him, Ginny, I've been terrible, and…"

"So?" Ginny said. "It's not the first time you've fought – and it's _Ron_. He'll forgive you in a minute, you know that. You know he's been missing you like mad ever since…"

"And I missed him!" Hermione wailed, feeling slightly ashamed at being so emotional.

"I know you did," Ginny said, trying to sound soothing, "And you two will sort it all out tomorrow, I promise."

"Do you really think so?" Hermione said, sniffing.

"I'm certain."

Hermione wiped her eyes with a tissue, and summoned up the will to conjure herself a glass of water. It was a minute or two before she felt able to say, "Are you okay?"

Ginny shrugged, then sighed. She smiled at Hermione and said, "I forgot. I mean, I read the paper, but…I forgot about the war, I forgot that this could happen. I thought we were just in school, and people were stressing over exams and boyfriends and _Quidditch_. I didn't think anything could happen _to Ron_!" She made an inarticulate sound that might have been a sob. "He's not supposed to have things happen to him Hermione! I _need_ him. I don't care how obnoxious he is, he can't just go…get himself dead. I won't _let _him."

"Oh, Ginny," Hermione said, crying again, "I _know_."

Ginny shook her head sharply, sucking down a gulp of air. "No," she said, "He's going to be fine. Really. He's all right. I'm just…I'm just upset because Mum was so frightened and Dad looked…and I didn't want to start crying on them when…when they've got other things to talk about, and the twins had to go, so…"

"I know," Hermione said.

Suddenly Lavender poked her head out of the door, glared at them, and said, "Where's Ron, _Ginny_?"

Ginny's lip curled and she said, "In the hospital wing, _Lavender_."

"What! Why didn't anyone tell me – I'm his girlfriend, I should be – "

"No one told you because we were too worried that he was going to die – and once we knew he wasn't, we were too tired to think of it, so…"

"But you should have…"

Ginny shook her head angrily and said, "Just piss off Lav, all right?"

Lavender's mouth opened in a ridiculous expression of shock, and Ginny continued, "He's fine by the way."

Lavender huffed and went back into their room, slamming the door. Ginny bristled for a moment. "What was Ron _thinking_ when he snogged her?"

Hermione shrugged – for once not interested in talking about Ron's stupidity – and Ginny sighed and said, "Well I've gone and ruffled her feathers haven't I?"

"It's not like she ever liked you that much anyway," Hermione said, making Ginny laugh.

"You're right, she doesn't…but I shouldn't have been 'mean.' I've hurt her feelings and…I suppose even Lavender has some."

Hermione sighed, and Ginny said, "Do you want to stay in my room tonight? I'm sure she'll be in fine form."

"Yeah," Hermione said, "I'd like that."

There'd been times lately when she and Ginny hadn't managed to get on, hadn't been able to talk as easily or comfortably as they had before, but for now Hermione just didn't care. She was exhausted, and upset, and she just couldn't deal with Lavender.

Ginny's dormitory only had four beds in it – her year was even smaller than Hermione's, due, no doubt, to the war. The other girls were asleep, but Ginny nicked one of Louise's extra pillows, and set it at the end of her four-poster. There was more than enough space for the two of them if they slept top-to-tail.

Once they were tucked in Hermione wanted nothing more than to sleep, but Ginny seemed oddly wakeful. It took a minute or two for Hermione to guess what the problem was – she'd sort of forgotten that Ginny sometimes had nightmares. She had them so rarely, and had only spoken about them once or twice, that it was easy not to think about it. But when Hermione did think about it…it wasn't hard to see that such a day, such a horrible day, could easily stir up bad memories.

Ginny smiled at her sheepishly and said, "I didn't want to be alone."

Hermione shook her head, trying to sound sincere; though she was so tired her eyes were half-closed. "It's fine."

"I know it's a bit – "

"Ginny, it's fine."

Hermione felt Ginny lie down and a moment later she said, "Thanks Hermione."

Hermione nudged her shoulder with her foot and said, "It's nothing."

"I know, but…thanks."

"Well, you're welcome."

They were silent for a moment, and then Hermione said, "Where were you?"

Ginny's voice sounded humorous as she said, "You'll never guess."

Hermione waited a moment. "Well?"

Ginny gave a little gasp of laughter, her body shaking under the blankets. "I was in the Transfiguration department, practising. That's why it took McGonagall so long to find me."

Hermione couldn't help herself – she laughed as Ginny continued, "It just shows you…I always said Transfiguration was the devil's subject, I always said it was evil."

Hermione smiled to herself and said, "Well maybe if you did more work…"

"Hermione!" Ginny said, laughing and angry at the same time. "Stop trying to wind me up. I know what you're doing."

They were silent again, and finally Hermione said, "Do you really think Ron will be okay with me, if I go up tomorrow?"

Ginny said in a very serious tone, "I'm _sure_ he will." She paused and added, "Thank God for Harry. If he decides to give up the Auror gig, he could always set a company to save various Weasleys from distress."

Hermione laughed and said, "Harry'd never make any money doing that. He cares about you Weaselys too much to _charge_."

"Yeah," Ginny said, sounding touched. "It's true. We got so lucky with Harry, didn't we, even if he won't let us repay him."

"Since it's Harry," Hermione said, choosing her words carefully, "I think…I think it's enough for him, having you all."

"But he always had _that_," Ginny said. "It's not like we say to our friends 'we expect to be saved from massive peril at least once a year or no dice.'"

"I know, Ginny,"

But she was interrupted. "It's just, he looks so lonely sometimes, or…like he's the weight of the world on his shoulders, and we're his _friends_ Hermione. We should be making him happy, not…"

"You _do_, Ginny." Hermione said. "You do, I promise."

"You really think so?" Ginny said.

"Yes." It wasn't hard to answer – Hermione knew exactly what Ginny meant, even if Ginny didn't know the 'facts.' Harry had accepted his 'destiny' so confidently, but Hermione still hated what it meant.

Still if there was one person who could brighten Harry lately, it was Ginny… It _was_ Ginny. In fact, Hermione was almost sure that Harry had been acting…that it wasn't just Ginny making him laugh that brought that light to his face, that made him stand up straight and talk in that special, low tone of voice that he only used for Ginny, that he had used that very afternoon when trying to calm her down, before giving her a half-hug and staring deep into her eyes and…

Hermione was almost sure that there was more to that than…she was almost sure it couldn't just be…

Ginny turned over in the bed. "I hope he tells Dean where I was," she said, "I completely forgot about him, and…I don't think I could stand it if he started moaning about it tomorrow."

"Yeah," Hermione said, still thinking furiously.

"I'm going to turn off the light now, is that okay?"

"Yeah," Hermione said absently.

Was it possible?


	29. Chapter Twenty Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Ginny was sitting beside Dean on the sofa as they talked over the Quidditch match. Dean was laughing at something, but Hermione could see Ginny's lips tightening, and a moment later she shrugged Dean's arm off her shoulders.

Sensing trouble brewing, Hermione went to join them, just in time to hear Dean say, "And did you see the way Harry was staring at McLaggen? With his head in the clouds like that it's no wonder he flopped off his broom."

"He did NOT flop," Ginny said, looking rather irate. "He got walloped in the head, and I'd like to see how you'd do if you got with one of those things."

"Well," Dean said, looking annoyed, "I wouldn't have gone crashing down like a bad stuntman. You'd think he'd never flown before."

Seamus grinned and said, "At least he can do something wrong, right?"

Dean snorted. "Harry Potter, the Boy Who Fell."

"Shut it!" Ginny said. "It's not _funny_."

"Ginny," Dean said in a placating tone, "It is a little. I mean…he looked like an idiot."

Ginny stood up, her eyes blazing, and said, "He could have _died_. You're the idiot if you think that's funny."

Dean looked at Hermione appealingly and said, "But he didn't die, so it _is_ funny."

Ginny sounded remarkably like her mother, as she said, "No. It. _Isn't._ You're just being ignorant."

"Hey!" Dean said, sounding angry, but Ginny merely glared at him. Catching her elbow, Hermione said, "Ginny? Can I borrow you for a minute?"

Ginny tossed her head and said, "Sure. I'd rather talk to you anyway."

Hermione suspected that that civil reflection was unlikely to soothe Dean's ruffled temper, but she ignored it for now and pulled Ginny towards the Portrait Hole. Ginny came willingly enough, and Hermione looked at her for a moment, suspicious of this unusual cooperation, but Ginny said nothing.

Once they were outside, Ginny leaned against a wall and took a deep breath. "Thanks," she said. "I was about two seconds away from hexing him."

Hermione nodded. "I figured." Privately, she rather thought that Dean would have done his cause much more service if he'd stood up and argued right back at Ginny, rather than attempted to be…reasonable and logical about things, but Hermione didn't plan on telling him that.

She put her hand on Ginny's shoulder and said, "Are you all right?"

Ginny shook her head. She was still very pale, and her eyes looked very dark and sad in the light. "No," she said, "I swear Hermione when I saw Harry fall all I could think was – "

She bit her lip, and cut herself off. Hermione couldn't blame her. Saying whatever Ginny had been about to say would have exposed all of her feelings, and for her own peace of mind, if nothing else, Ginny couldn't do that yet.

"Look," Hermione said bracingly, "Why don't you go up to the Hospital Wing?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, I shouldn't," she said. "You said he has fractured skull – he's probably still asleep, he won't want me bothering him."

She sounded like such a little girl that Hermione wanted to hug her, but she chose something more effective and said, "Look Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let me in went up, she says I've been practically living there lately, which means Ron's been on his own all day. Someone needs to go up there and distract him before he blows a gasket."

Ginny shook her head, but started walking with Hermione in the direction of the Hospital Wing. "I don't know," she said, chewing on her lower lip. "I don't th

ink this is a good idea."

"Ginny!" Hermione said sharply, "You're bringing him roses, or weeping over his body or declaring your feelings of deep attraction to him – you're just visiting. There's nothing too strange about that."

Ginny stared at her. Her hair was falling down, and she had a bruise on one arm, and she looked incredibly fragile. Her jaw was actually trembling as she said, "Do you really think he'd want to see me?"

Hermione felt helpless for a moment. She loved Harry, she'd even loved him when he'd acted like a complete git during their fifth year, but she could never imagine being so vulnerable to way acted, or felt. Harry was an emotional basketcase most of the time – things that were so completely and utterly obvious to even the blindest of mortals seemed to cause him immense difficulty. At least, that's how it seemed to her. Most of the time it never struck Hermione to be _hurt_ by Harry, because even on the rare occasions when he was actually cruel, it was clear his heart wasn't in it.

But for Ginny…

If Harry looked disappointed to see Hermione, she ignored it and chivvied him into the right thing anyway. But for Ginny, it hurt. It must have actually hurt, any time Harry had seemed bored with her, or angry, or indifferent. And once upon time, Hermione might have thought such a response was silly, or extreme, but…when you didn't know if the person you loved, loved you too, and Hermione knew all about that now, then it was hard to have what she might have called…perspective. Hard to be sensible.

"Ginny," Hermione said reassuringly, "I know Harry would _love_ to see you, okay? I'm sure of it."

"Okay," Ginny said. "Okay. Sorry. Being silly."

"No," Hermione said, feeling very old all of a sudden, "I understand."

Ginny seemed to brace herself and grinned at Hermione. "I think Dean's going to be annoyed with me," she said.

Hermione smiled. It was so much easier to talk about Dean – so much easier to watch Ginny talk about Dean. He might make her angry, but he could never hurt her. "Do you think?" Hermione said.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I know, I know, I'm the worst girlfriend in the world. I don't mean to be, it's just…I don't _want_ to hold hands with him all the time, I don't _want_ him to open doors for me or pull out chairs or any of that. I can handle myself, and Dean should know that."

"I'm sure he does," Hermione said, knowing Ginny wouldn't listen.

"It's just, lately, with everything else that's happening, I've felt a bit…suffocated," Ginny said confidingly. "We have lunch every day – and if we _don't_ Dean's sure to ask me why, and why not and am I annoyed with him, and it's just…he can never just be quiet, you know?"

Hermione blinked. "I'm not sure what you mean," she said.

Ginny bit her lip again, "It's… I wouldn't mind spending as much time with him as I do," she said, "if he could just…stop talking, for five minutes. But he can't. I mean, he says he's helping me study, for instance, only he has to talk and talk and _show_ me how to do everything, and…it's not helpful at all. If he could just sit there, maybe do his own work, not hover over me all the time, I swear, Hermione, I wouldn't feel half so stressed about the OWLs."

"He's getting in the way of your study?" Hermione said incredulously.

"That's not what I meant," Ginny said. "Well, maybe a little. I just wish he'd stop acting like I'm a porcelain doll, that's all. He's got to know I can take care of myself."

"I'm sure he does," Hermione said, still studiously keeping her thoughts to herself. "But he probably sees it as polite."

Ginny snorted. "If only he'd had a terrible upbringing!"

"Yeah," Hermione said, smiling a little.

Ginny mused on. "Maybe that's the problem with Dean," she said.

"I'm sorry?"

"He's so bloody perfect," Ginny said. "He never does _anything_ wrong, he's sweet and nice and considerate, he was in the DA, he plays Quidditch – he does have a _crap _sense of humour, but otherwise…" She sighed, and said, "I've to do more work on Transfiguration tonight, so…I'll have to 'make it up' in the morning."

They'd reached the door to the Hospital Wing, and Hermione took pity on her and said, "I'll tell him I gave out to you about not doing enough of work and that you're in danger of failing. That should make him leave you alone for tonight at least."

Ginny smiled and gave her a quick hug. "You're a lifesaver," she said. "Do you think – "

Sensing that Ginny was about to begin stalling, Hermione said, "I've to go patrol. Prefect stuff."

"Oh, okay," Ginny said. "Thanks."

Hermione smiled at her reassuringly, and headed off down the corridor. She knew it was scary for Ginny, it was always scary, but the truth was Ginny couldn't possibly be happy, neither of them could be happy, until she'd faced her feelings, whatever that meant.

When Hermione looked back, the door was closing behind Ginny. She'd gone in to Harry.


	30. Chapter Thirty

Author's Note

This chapter was nearly finished a week ago, but I didn't post until now, because a very dear friend of mine died, very suddenly, and far too soon, early this week. To say that I've been in a state of shock is putting it mildly. She was a wonderful person, and well on her way to becoming a wonderful writer, and she died far, far too young. But she was also my friend, and for that reason, I've decided to dedicate this fic, in its entirety, to Aerin. My friend.

Chapter Thirty

A few days after Harry and Ron got out of the Hospital Wing, Ginny sat down beside Hermione and started to wolf her food down. "If Dean asks," she said, "Tell him I wanted to ask Harry for help with Potions."

Hermione ignored the comment on Harry and said, "Do you _actually_ need help?"

Ginny shook her head. "No – and don't start. I can't have another argument today."

"Another argument?"

Ginny shook her head. "You don't want to know. I told him I didn't want to go to Madam Puddifoots. I'd rather be drowned in Pygmy Puffs. And the thing that drives me nuts, he didn't say 'Okay, lets do something else' like any sane person would say, no it's 'what's wrong with you Ginny, that you don't want to go to Madam Puddifoots, why don't you _like_ it when I treat you like you can't even open a door for yourself.' Honestly, you'd think there was something strange and unnatural about me the way he goes on."

Hermione waited to see if Ginny had finished. "So you're avoiding him," she said.

"Yeah," Ginny said, laughing. "Real mature, I know, but it's either avoid him or scratch his eyes out, and I just don't have the energy right now."

"Maybe you _should_ scratch his eyes out," Hermione said, "Get it out of your system. I mean, not actually, but…"

"No," Ginny said emphatically. "See, when you and Ron fight you just end up fancying each other more; when Dean and I fight we just start to dislike each other. Anyway, let's not discuss the mess that is my love life."

Harry, who was approaching the table on Ginny's side, seemed to start at those words, so much so that he barely noticed Ginny smile at him as he sat down. Barely.

Hermione was resisting the urge to smile significantly at him, when Ron pulled her hair from behind. He seemed surprised that Ginny was there, and said, "What are you doing here?"

"I _was_ talking to Hermione," Ginny said angrily, "But if you want me to go – "

"Don't." Harry said. "It's just a surprise. Don't you normally eat with Dean?"

Ginny winced at Dean's name and said, "Dean's not a Potions expert –"

"Nor is Harry," Hermione said, unable to help herself. Harry gave her a filthy look as Ginny said, "Got any tips for me?"

Harry grinned and said, "You can pick my brain later if you want."

Ginny shook her head. "You don't know what you're letting yourself in for, Harry – I actually might."

"It wouldn't be so bad," Harry said, sounding more confident than Hermione was used to.

Ron was either ignoring, or hadn't noticed, the way Harry and Ginny were interacting, for he merely swallowed a mouthful of pumpkin juice and said, "Worrying about your OWLs, are you? Remember, the twins set the bar nice and low."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Ginny said. "I'm sure Mum'll be really understanding when I tell her 'at least I did better than the twins'."

Ron rolled his eyes and said, "At least I tried. I won't bother if you're going to be moany."

Ginny scowled at him and said, "How's _Lavender_?"

Ron, hilariously, ducked as though expecting his girlfriend to leap at him any second, and Hermione gave into temptation, and kicked Ginny's shin under the table. Ginny yelped and said, "Anyway…I think Demelza's got a bit of a crush on Dean. Her passing's been a bit off, and she got by a Bludger _twice_ yesterday."

Hermione rolled her eyes at this Quidditch talk, but Ron said, "Well, you'd know all about that, wouldn't you Harry?"

Ron was totally innocent of any suggestiveness – Hermione was not. "Still having trouble concentrating, Harry?"

He caught the touch of wickedness in her tone, and seemed to be struggling to control a blush as he said, "Just a bit, yeah."

Ginny, who seemed baffled by all of this, said, "Well I don't blame you. Playing as Seeker is dead boring – I'd stare at the Chasers too."

"Yeah," Harry said, "The Chasers are the most interesting bit."

Hermione was trying to control the urge to laugh, when Ron said, "Doesn't it bother you about Demelza? Not worried he'll trade you in for a younger model?"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Ron, I'm not going to explode with jealousy if he _talks_ to another girl. Besides, I'd bet Demelza isn't even on his radar."

"How do you make that out?" Hermione said. She had a feeling it would do Harry good to hear this.

"Well," Ginny said, "She's two years younger than him, she gets all shy whenever he's around – she walked into a door last week, poor thing – and he's…a boy." She shrugged. "She'll find someone a bit more attainable. I just hope it's soon, 'cause she's a really good Chaser when she's on form."

Harry was staring fixedly at his plate, and taking pity on him, Hermione said, "How did you do on the Transfiguration essay?"

Ginny shuddered, and Ron said, "Don't start on about Transfiguration – are you _trying_ to depress her?"

Hermione glared at him – it was so much fun to be able to glare at him again – and said, "Ginny's doing better at Transfiguration, I'll have you know."

"Yeah, well – she could hardly do worse," Ron said.

"I used to be good at it, before Mum traumatised me," Ginny said.

"What did you do?" Harry asked.

Ron grinned, "Oh it was _brilliant_," he said. "It was her first piece of magic."

Ginny shook her head. "The twins and Percy were having an argument about…about who could boss me around, basically, and I got angry and…well," she said, biting her lip, "I gave them carrots for fingers. Mum was _furious_."

"It was still brilliant," Ron said. "I wish someone had taken a photo."

"Yeah," Ginny said absently. She lifted Harry's wrist so she could look at his watch – meaning she couldn't see the way his face lit up the moment she touched him. "I should get going. I've to head down to Care, and I said I'd get Jules out of the library."

"How's she doing?" Hermione asked, remembering that she hadn't seen Ginny's tempestuous friend in some time.

"I think she's cracking up, to be honest," Ginny said. "She had a nightmare about the Arithmancy exam the other day. If you think I'm bad about Transfiguration… At least Louise is sane." She shook her head dramatically and waved at them all as she set off – and not a moment too soon, as Dean joined them a minute later.

* * *

Hermione barely saw Ginny over the next week or two, and whenever she did Ginny seemed on the verge of falling apart due to accumulated frustration. Hermione decided it was best to let things run their course – she might have suggested to Dean that being _more_ solicitous towards Ginny wouldn't help matters, but that might have prolonged their relationship which, above all things, Hermione didn't want to do. It wasn't that Dean was a bad boyfriend or that he treated Ginny poorly, but it was increasingly clear that they were just an unfortunate match.

Ginny needed someone who respected her mile-wide independent streak. That didn't mean her boyfriend should let her walk all over him, but he should at least recognise that it was an engrained trait, that Ginny would never sacrifice it, for anyone. Thinking about Ginny's history, it wasn't hard to see how she'd come to be that way. Yes, it occasionally made her a little bratty, but the damage had been done years ago; Hermione was convinced Ginny clung so fiercely to her independence because it made her feel safe. She didn't want to be dependent on anyone.

It had taken Hermione nearly two years to realise this, but once she did, any number of things fell into place. She'd thought that Ginny was perfect for Harry ever since the she'd accompanied him on the Hogwarts Express at the start of Fifth Year, but she'd never been certain that Harry was perfect for Ginny. Yet when she saw him staring at Ginny while she told a joke or moaned about Transfiguration or teased Ron, Hermione realised something – Harry had seen Ginny at her worst.

Hermione didn't know what that worst had been, though she thought she'd caught glimpses of it over the years, but Harry had seen it. Ginny might be terrified of still being that frightened little girl in the Chamber, but Harry had seen her like that, and…_forgotten_ it. In one way that was crushingly insensitive, but in another…Ginny didn't have to show him her strength of personality, because Harry assumed it. He'd _always_ seen her that way. It was one of his more irritating personality traits that he assumed everyone was as sturdily and determinedly independent as he was, but it was a perfect fit for Ginny.

All this independence was wonderful of course, but it could be rather frustrating to deal with, as Hermione realised when Ginny came storming into the girls' bathroom shortly after Harry had gone down to visit Hagrid under the invisibility cloak. Ginny's eyes were sparkling and she seemed very excited, but she actually started when Hermione touched her shoulder and said, "What happened?"

Ginny tossed her head and laughed, "Nothing. Nothing has happened. Nothing at all."

"Right," Hermione said slowly. "I'm just avoiding Lavender – her and Ron got started a while ago."

"They did more than that," Ginny said. "But you know what Hermione? I don't have to hold hands with Dean ever again, I don't have to smile at him if I don't want to, I don't have to go to Madam Puddifoots, I don't have to have lunch with every single day, as though he's the only interesting person in the world, I don't have to do any of it. God," she added, sounding triumphant, "I'm so _relieved_."

"So, you broke up with him then?" Hermione said.

"Yeah!" Ginny said, laughing. "And I told him that if he _ever_ tries to Portrait Hole again, I'll hex his hands off. Honestly, I told him, and told him, but he just kept doing it." She took a deep, satisfied breath and said, "You should have seen our fight, Hermione – it was _glorious._"

"Well," Hermione said, smiling herself, "As long as you're happy about it."

"Happy about it?" Ginny said. "I could fly."

"Okay then," Hermione said, going back to washing her hands.

"Anyway," Ginny said, "There are more important things than me and Dean."

Given Harry's feelings, Hermione thought this was rather unlikely – she couldn't wait to see his face when he heard – but she still asked Ginny dutifully, "What's more important?"

"Well," Ginny said, "Ron and Lavender broke up."

For a moment Hermione literally did not believe what Ginny had said, and she had to shake her head more than once, so she was certain of what she'd heard. "Are you serious?" she said.

"Yeah," Ginny said, grinning at her. "You should have _seen_ the fireworks. Ron's downstairs – I think he's a bit shellshocked."

Hermione strangled the urge to race down to the Common Room and said, "Was he upset?"

"Oh," Ginny said, "I don't _think_ so. What I think, is that you should go down to him."

Hermione bit her lip. She wanted to, more than anything, but she was horribly afraid. Yet again there was a chance for her and Ron – and yet again there was a chance it would go completely wrong.

Ginny must have seen the look on her face, for she pushed Hermione towards the door and said, "Trust me – you're the one he's waiting for."

A moment later Hermione was racing down the stairs.


	31. Chapter Thirty One

Chapter Thirty-One

Hermione brushed her teeth viciously as she met Ginny's eyes in the bathroom mirror; she was damned if she would crack first. They had had…words over Harry's latest exercise in stupidity. There was something horrifying in the notion that Harry was even capable of shedding blood – it frightened her to think of it. She wanted to explain it to him, wanted him to see why she was afraid, but …even more than that, she had to admit to herself, it was satisfying to know she was right about the potions book.

Still, it was more than a little irritating that Ginny, who'd been washing her face, was still ignoring her. Hermione had planned to maintain a steely silence all evening, but she had finally reached the point where she was too irritated to care about such a small matter of pride. Besides, it was about time someone took Ginny down a peg or two.

Timing her words carefully, Hermione said, "You're acting like a real brat, you know that?"

Ginny, who'd been on her way out of the bathroom, stopped and said waspishly, "What?"

"I said…you're acting like a brat."

"Oh," Ginny said, folding her arms in an ominous fashion. "I'm the one who's being obnoxious. Well that's an interesting interpretation of events."

"No," Hermione said "It's not an interpretation. It's a fact."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh, of course it's a fact. Because you just _have_ to be right, don't you? Like it even matters."

"Of course it matters," Hermione said. "Harry nearly killed Malfoy, you think that doesn't matter."

"_No_," Ginny said, "Of course I don't, but you know what? Malfoy _isn't_ dead. He isn't. And he was going to torture Harry? What the hell was Malfoy doing that that was his first instinct?"

"So what, because Harry got lucky it's just fine what he did to Malfoy?"

"NO!" Ginny said. "God Hermione, you know it _is_ possible to think cursing people is bad and still see that Harry didn't mean to do it. It was written all over his face."

"So what?" Hermione said. "He still did it! Maybe you don't understand what that means Ginny but – "

"Oh shut it, Hermione." Ginny said. "You're not the only one who's seen what magic can do."

"Look Ginny," Hermione said, "I just don't think you understand what's happening. Harry could have been a murderer."

"No he couldn't!" Ginny yelled, her face screwed up with anger. "I'm more than familiar with teenage murderers and Harry isn't anywhere near… That you could even…don't you even know him?"

"Yes, I know him," Hermione said. "I've known him since he was eleven, I know everything."

"Yeah I've noticed," Ginny said, her lip curling. "You've made it so bloody clear – you know Harry better than anyone, you know more about him than I ever could, 'cause he wouldn't ever want me… 'cause I'm just not good enough to know what you're doing, I'm just some bloody dead weight you've put up with all this time, just some stupid little girl you have to _protect_, just some idiot with a broken ankle, just some – "

"_God_ Ginny!" Hermione said. "Would you just shut up?"

Ginny, whose face had been getting rather red, closed her mouth with a snap. She stared at Hermione, who flipped her hair over her shoulder and continued, "Believe me when I say, I don't give even _half_ a damn which bone you broke. I really don't. Bones break, Ginny. That's life!"

Ginny shook her head, her thick red hair seeming to take up half the room. "You don't know what it's like," she said.

"The hell I don't," Hermione said. "You think Harry and Ron never shut me out of anything? Of course they did, that's what – "

"That isn't the point," Ginny said. "Do you have any idea how infuriating it is when you lot pull that 'we know more than we could ever tell, especially not to you' crap?"

"Look," Hermione said, trying to maintain something like patience, "I know it's hard for you to believe, but the stuff we keep to ourselves, it isn't just so we can keep you out. Just _knowing_ these things –"

"Can get you killed, I _know_," Ginny said. "But you could just say that – you could just be honest about it, if that's all it is, 'cause honestly, Hermione, the way you act makes m think different."

"Well," Hermione said, "That's nothing to do with me, that's your bloody thing." Privately, she wondered why it was only Weasleys who could make her swear.

"Sure it is," Ginny said, her tone vicious. "It's just a complete coincidence that you don't think I'm good enough."

"No," Hermione said. "I don't. Not if you're going to act like this." Ginny's face went white, and Hermione continued. "You have nothing to prove – not to me anyway. It's all just in your head."

"It isn't," Ginny said furiously.

"Oh it is. You've got some nonsense up there," Hermione said, tapping Ginny's temple, "about being a victim or something, so you go around trying to show everyone you're not, but it's all in your head Ginny. You're the one who chooses it."

Ginny looked startled – as though she wanted to say something but couldn't think what. She turned away from Hermione and bent to get a drink of water. Her shoulders were shaking, and when she finally stood and met Hermione's eyes in the mirror she said, "I'm just so _scared_."

Her face looked as though it might crumple into a dozen pieces, and Hermione hugged her immediately. Ginny was shaking, though she didn't seem to be crying. She sank to her knees a moment later, her head buried in Hermione's shoulder. She was whispering. "I won't do it, I won't do any of it, I swear, I won't."

Hermione thought of the way Harry had looked after Sirius died, and understood. But she didn't say anything – like she'd said, Ginny had to decide for herself.

It was a minute or two before she seemed calm, and Hermione could finally say, "Besides, Harry clearly fancies you, so I don't know why you – "

Ginny gasped. Her hands seemed to flutter up and down as she looked at Hermione, struggling to say, "Do you really think so?"

Hermione stared at her – she had yet to smile. "Yeah."

Ginny's tone was astonished. "I've seen him…looking at me…and I'd think – I know that look, that look means… And there were things he'd say, or do, the way he kept…he was always around, especially lately, sitting beside me, or touching me, but then…. I just couldn't let myself believe it. I mean, it's Harry, and you said…and you know him so much better than I do and…"

"God Ginny," Hermione said, suddenly wanting to laugh. "Surely you've realised by now that sometimes I get things wrong. Besides, I'm not the one who sees things 'written all over' Harry's face. I have to guess."

"Yeah, but…" Ginny said, a smile, a tiny, tentative, but beautiful smile, finally gracing her face, "But you see, but you see…it's _Harry_."


	32. Chapter Thirty Two

Chapter Thirty-Two

Having spent most of the afternoon explaining to Ron just why Harry had "never said _anything_," Hermione decided that there was only so much masculinity she could take for one afternoon, and made a beeline for Jules and Louise when she entered the Great Hall. Between the Quidditch final and…what had happened after, there was plenty to talk about, and Hermione wanted to speak to Ginny the _second_ she arrived, and so, she left Ron to the thankless task of cheering up Dean.

Jules and Louise must have guessed what was on her mind, for before Hermione had even sat down, Jules said, "She's not here yet. She's still out with _him_."

Hermione felt her hackles rising at Jules' tone, but Louise intervened before things could get really ugly. "Did you know about this?" she said.

Hermione nodded. "It's been fairly obvious for a while now." She grinned and added, "I love Harry, but he isn't subtle – you should have seen the looks he kept giving her. Mr Darcy had nothing on him."

"Mr Darcy?" Jules said curiously, but she was interrupted by Louise, who let out a wolf-whistle and said, "There they are!"

And so they were. Harry and Ginny were hand-in-hand, walking up the Great Hall, and the strange thing was, neither of them seemed to notice just how many people were staring at them. Until Jules called out "Ginny!" they seemed to be completely in a world of their own. Harry smiled at Ginny when he heard her name, and kissed her once, before walking on up to Ron. Hermione blinked as she watched him go – Harry was strutting.

She started laughing then – no doubt he had good reason, but she'd never seen look so unabashedly sure of himself, and wickedness or not, it was truly hilarious to see the grin on his face. Harry heard her laughter and caught her eye, and Hermione had just sense enough to grin right back at him. It wasn't often she and Harry were 'at one,' so to speak, but she didn't have to say a word to show him how truly happy she was for him.

Ginny joined them a moment later, her dishevelled and her face simply…shining with happiness. She rolled her eyes at the hubbub that broke out the moment she sat down and grinned at Hermione. "So," she said. "How was your afternoon?"

Jules and Louise exploded with questions, and Hermione decided to let them handle the interrogation. She just wanted to look at Ginny – it had been a long time since she'd seen her looking so content. "So how long has he liked you?"

"Well," Ginny said, smiling a crooked little smile, "He said since last summer."

"Last summer?" Hermione said, surprised. She clearly hadn't given Harry enough credit.

"Yeah," Ginny said. "Well, basically. He said it took him a while to realise – remember he kept getting grumpy whenever I mentioned Dean? – but since last summer."

"And what did you do?" Jules asked suspiciously.

"Well…"Ginny put her fingers to her lips and flushed a little as the girls started giggling.

Finally Louise managed to say, "And how was he?"

For a moment Ginny looked slightly smug, and then she said, grinning, "He was lovely."

Hermione really didn't want to think about Harry and kissing, and so she hurried on to the next question. "How did it…you know, happen?"

Ginny tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and glanced shyly at Harry, further down the table. "When he came in," she said, "I just had to hug him. I wanted him to know that he'd done it, that he'd led us to victory even if he hadn't played, and…the way he was looking at me, I've never seen anyone so… So, I thought 'the hell with it,' I thought 'why not, what's the worst thing that could happen,' and I kissed him. And it was just…perfect."

"Everything you've always dreamed of?" Jules asked.

"Yes, Jules. And get that tone out of your voice. Look," Ginny continued, "I know you're not that fond of Harry, but…but I really like him, like, _really_ like him, and –"

If Hermione was astonished that Ginny would actually admit it, she was even more astounded by what Jules said next.

"Like you liked Dean?"

Ginny glowered at her friend. "No. Not like I liked Dean. That was for a week or two, this is…this is…"

"It's Harry." Louise said. "We know that, Gin, we understand… So lay off, all right Jules?"

There was a silence for a moment, and then Jules said, "Sorry. I just don't him to hurt you or anything, and you know there'll be something. After what happened with Cho Chang…. Though, you know, maybe I'm wrong, now that his whole doom and gloom phase is over. And," she added, looking miserable, "I suppose I'm a bit jealous."

Ginny put her hand on Jules' and said, "I promise, when we're living in London the three of us, we'll go out all the time and find you a girl. Or several girls."

"It's just the small population at Hogwarts," Louise added.

"I know," Jules said, "It's just… I never get to do anything."

"Oh join the club," Hermione said, reeling inwardly at the realisation. This must have happened very recently.

"See?" Ginny said. "Hermione knows all about sexual frustration. Just be glad you're not involved with a Weasely – time doesn't solve _that_ problem."

"As Lavender gives us daily proof," Louise said, rolling her eyes.

Hermione wanted to laugh – four months before, she _would_ have laughed, in joyful contempt – but she knew all to well how it felt to have Ron break your heart. She just hoped could Parvati could chivvy Lavender out of it.

Jules took a sip of pumpkin juice and said, "Are you going out with him?"

Ginny flushed a little, but she was still smiling as she said, "Yeah. He got a bit emphatic about it. He was scared I might say no!"

"It was all that pining he was doing," Louise said. "It sapped his confidence."

"Do you really think he was pining?" Ginny asked.

"Oh please," Jules said. "He's been mad about you for nearly a year, he was jealous of Dean and scared you might reject him – how is that _not_ pining?"

Ginny grinned, and there was a delighted self-satisfaction in her voice as she said, "I suppose he did pine – a little."

"And took to writing dodgy poetry," Louise said.

"And wearing dark clothes," Jules added. "And staring into the fire late at night, dreaming of you."

"Or searching for metaphors," Ginny said. "For the dodgy poetry."

Louise and Jules both smirked at Ginny then, and she burst out laughing, her laughter ringing like a bell through the hall. "Don't say it," she warned them.

"We won't," they chorused innocently.

"His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad, his hair is as black as a - how did it go on?"

"_Hermione_!" Ginny said.

"What?"

"Don't _remind_ people of it."

"Oh come on," Louise said, "It was cute."

"It was not," Ginny said from behind her hands, "It was horrifying."

"Actually," Jules said, "I think the word you're looking for…is dodgy."

Ginny moaned, and even Hermione had to laugh at her affect of despair – which didn't come even remotely close to convincing, as she was still smiling. Hermione had to admit, she felt a little out of her depth, but it was worth just to see Ginny's face. She'd never known someone could look simultaneously so happy, and so flummoxed.

Louise looked at her watch and swore. "Can you still help us find that red star, Ginny?"

Catching Hermione's eye, Ginny said, "Sure. Just run up to the Astronomy Tower and get the telescopes ready."

Jules and Louise thanked her and left, and Hermione couldn't help herself. "Jules likes _girls_? I thought she fancied Seamus."

"She used to say that to fit in," Ginny said, "Whenever we were talking about boys, but…well he never knew anyway. She only told us a month ago."

"Wow," Hermione said. "Is she all right?"

"I think so," said Ginny, looking pensive. "I think it's harder if you're pureblood – all that pressure to have nice pureblood babies."

"But Jules' family isn't – "

"They're not Death Eaters in training," Ginny said. "I mean, her sister's a Squib and her parents were killed in the last war, but…that doesn't mean her granddad wouldn't 'prefer' if the line continued, and continued 'pure.' She says she's going to tell them this summer."

"Well, good for her, I suppose," Hermione said.

"Yeah," Ginny said. "She seems so much happier now that she's told us – she said all these and thoughts, that she was just pushing down, are completely _free_ now, and – "

"I understand," Hermione said. Ginny was starry-eyed, and it wasn't hard to guess why. Idly, Hermione wondered if Harry realised that he could make her this completely happy.

Ginny stood up, wiping her hands with a napkin. "I better go," she said. "Or Jules'll murder me. Could you tell Harry…tell him I'll be back after eight, if he'll wait for me?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ginny," she said, "He'll wait, trust me. But you do realise will probably be there?"

Ginny gave a long-suffering sigh, and said, "Time to face the music I suppose. I'll see you later Hermione."

And off she ran down the hall, her face still lit up.


	33. Chapter ThirtyThree

Chapter Thirty-Three

Hermione laid her head back against the sofa and listened to Harry and Ron chatting. She'd worked hard all afternoon on an essay for Arithmancy, and she wanted to bask in the satisfaction of a job well done. Besides, it was nice just to hear them talking, even if she would never understand the fascination of Quidditch.

Ron had taken Harry and Ginny's relationship surprisingly well, all things considered, though he did insist on using words like 'permission' around Ginny, which were simply guaranteed to wind her up. Hermione couldn't help but wish they wouldn't _bait_ each other so much. She could see both sides of it of course, but she sometimes found herself wishing that Ron would be a little more welcoming, a little nicer to Ginny – and that Ginny would realise his protectiveness wasn't necessarily a sign that he thought her weak or foolish.

She was surprised actually when Ginny came slouching in through the portrait hole, a glum expression on her face. She sat down heavily beside Harry and hid her head in his shoulder. "Don't talk to me," she said.

Harry grinned. "I though you were still in the library?"

"I just _had_ to leave," Ginny said, a touch melodramatically in Hermione's opinion. "I've had the worst day."

Hermione frowned. "Ginny, it's getting very close to your OWLs – you shouldn't come back just to…to see Harry, or…you really do have to work."

"I know that, Hermione," Ginny said, looking moody. "But I can take a break, can't I? If I spend half an hour just chatting, I can actually sleep at night, not wake up muttering Potions recipes."

Hermione sighed her most disapproving sigh. "Did you finish the plan at least?"

"You made Ginny a study plan?" Ron said.

"Yes!" Hermione said defensively. "I didn't want her to fail or….or get distracted," she added, looking pointedly at Harry.

"I thought you only made plans for Harry and me."

"Well you thought wrong," Hermione said. She didn't understand why Ron thought it was such a big deal. "Did you finish it Ginny?"

"Yes," Ginny said, avoiding Hermione's eyes.

"Ginny."

"Well, almost," Ginny said, now playing with Harry's left hand. "I didn't read the chapter on the Vampire-Troll Confederacy, but I'm going to fail History of Magic anyway, so – "

"That's the spirit," Harry said, looking as though he very much wanted to kiss her.

Hermione shook her head at her. "It's only thirty-five pages, Ginny. You should have stayed in the library and finished up."

"It's a good idea in theory," Ginny said brightly, "But Madam Pince wouldn't agree. She kicked me out."

"What did you do?" Harry asked. "Did you insult Filch?" Hermione grinned at him.

"No," Ginny said, "Nothing like that. Zacharias Smith was given Luna a hard time and I told him to knock it off, and…things got a bit heated."

"What was he doing?" Ron asked.

"Oh just…you know, calling her Loony, and he took her quill and wouldn't give it back and…I might have overreacted." Ginny said. "I think today was my day for fights."

"Speaking of which," Ron said in his big brother voice, "What's this I hear about you and Blaise Zabini?"

"Oh God," Ginny said, "Don't even remind me."

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"The usual nonsense – I don't know what his problem is. He had a go at Louise this morning." Ginny sighed. "I don't know what it is about him. I mean, I get it, he thinks I'm some filthy blood traitor or whatever, but I don't understand why he has to keep harping on about it. I mean, I'm not going to let him talk like that to Louise, but…" She chewed on her bottom lip. "Does he give you that much trouble?"

Ron shook his head. "Can't say that he does – I barely even knew him before this year."

Ginny slumped. "Well then I don't know what it is," she said. "Ever since third year…the Yule Ball, I mean, he's been…I don't get it."

Harry ruffled her hair and said, "Do you really not know?"

Ginny shrugged. "Maybe I make some sound only gits and pygmy puffs can hear."

"No," Harry said. "And you call me thick?"

"I never called you thick!"

Harry looked at her sceptically, and Ginny gave in. "Well," she said, "Maybe once. But I meant it affectionately."

"Anyway," Harry said, "Blaise Zabini…well, he fancies you."

"What!"

Ron rolled his eyes at the way they both squealed, and Hermione smiled at Ginny as she continued, "Oh, he does _not_. You're just imagining things."

"I'm not," Harry said, "At least, Pansy Parkinson thinks so. You remember I eavesdropped on them?"

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Ginny said. "I could have started wearing garlic perfume or…or done something to put him off, _if_ it's really true."

Harry grinned. "I wasn't about to inform on the competition."

Ginny's voice was bubbling with laughter. "Blaise Zabini, Harry? Have you no faith in me?"

"Maybe I was paranoid," Harry said.

"Crazy paranoid." Ginny intoned. "Fudge paranoid."

Ron groaned at them and said, "Could you two knock it off?"

Hermione, whose feet were resting in Ron's lap, poked him slightly in the stomach to get him to behave. He grabbed her ankle and said, "Getting frisky eh?"

Ginny raised her eyebrows and there was a moment's silence before she said, "I hope Luna's okay."

Harry looked concerned. "Does Smith go after her much?"

Ginny shrugged. "Who knows? Luna never talks about it, but you know what she's like. He's just a pillock."

Harry stood up. "Here," she said, "I'll walk her back from the library. Make sure he doesn't give her any hassle."

"Really?" Ginny said, her whole face lighting up.

"Sure," Harry said, blushing when she kissed him on the cheek.

Ron stood up as well, "I haven't talked to Luna in a while – I need a laugh," he said. He lifted Hermione's feet off his lap, somewhat to her regret, and both boys left.

Ginny yawned and said, "Luna's going to be the talk of our year tomorrow with those two escorting her you realise?"

"Yeah," Hermione said, still tingling from Ron's touch.

Ginny grinned mischievously. "You two are looking pretty cosy."

Hermione blushed, and said, "Yeah, I suppose."

Ginny stared at her. "What?" she said. "What happened?"

"No it's…it's nothing," Hermione said.

Ginny looked incredulous. "Nothing? Come on Hermione, I'm not blind – I see you two with the…foot flirting."

"Yeah," Hermione said. "I know. And we are…flirting, I suppose. It's just, I don't want to…put pressure on it. You know what I mean?"

Ginny shrugged. "I'm not sure I follow."

Hermione stared down at the table, pulling the words out. "The thing is…before all that mess with Lavender, we were so scared. Or at least, I was – I'm pretty sure he was too. So scared, and so obsessed with what every little word, or half-word, might mean, that…is it any wonder it all went wrong?" She paused; a little shocked at her daring in saying this next thing aloud, though she honestly believed it to be true. "But I do like him, I really like him, and he feels the same way…I _know_ he feels the same way, so…when it naturally _should_ happen – it will happen. I know that. So there's no point in dissecting every little thing, you know. I think…I think it's time to just let things be."

Ginny was smiling broadly at her, and Hermione sighed. "Did that get too heavy?"

Ginny's eyes were bright. "No," she said, "I understand. It's just really hard to get there."

"Yeah," Hermione said absently.

Ginny added a moment later, "Did I tell you McGonagall's been helping me with my practical Transfiguration almost every day now?"

"No," Hermione said, "But that was because every time I so much as mentioned Transfiguration you put your fingers in your ears and started singing to yourself."

"Yeah," Ginny said, "I might have. Still, it's pretty cool of her."

"It is," Hermione said. "Now do your work before Harry gets back from rescuing Luna."

"My hero," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. Hermione shook her head at her – however satirically Ginny might speak, they both knew it was true.


	34. Chapter Thirty Four

Chapter Thirty-Four

Ginny joined Hermione at the breakfast table. Her hair was greasy and there were deep shadows under her eyes. Hermione pushed some bacon onto her plate and said, "Did you get any sleep?"

Ginny shrugged. "I got some."

Hermione looked at her sternly. "How much is some?"

"Not enough," said Ginny, "but that isn't exactly a surprise, is it?"

"No," Hermione said, "I suppose it isn't."

They fell silent and Hermione took a sip of her tea. There were far too few people in the great hall. Parvati and Padma were already gone.

Ginny buttered her toast as Hermione said, "Is it nightmares, or…"

Ginny nodded grimly. "Nightmares," she said, "And just staying awake all night, worrying – thinking about…what Harry's going to do."

Hermione put her cup down sharply and said. "Has he said anything to you?"

"No," Ginny said. "He hasn't said a word. I just have a feeling."

"Feeling about what?" Hermione asked, thinking that Ginny was fairly likely to be right.

"I…" Ginny paused, and then said, "Look, I don't want to say anything. I could be wrong. I don't think I am, I don't think so, but…just in case."

"Do you have to be so cloak and dagger about it?" Hermione said irritably.

Ginny looked as though she rather wanted to laugh, but all she said was, "The second I know, so will you." She looked up at the teachers' table. "I can't believe he's gone."

"I know," Hermione said.

"I mean, I literally can't believe it," Ginny said. "I keep thinking he's going to walk through those doors." They were silent again. The truth of Dumbledore's murder was so huge, so incomprehensible that it was simply impossible to say anything meaningful about it. Hermione watched Michael Corner comfort a weeping Cho Chang, and considered, for a moment, whether it would be wrong of her to just go back to bed – maybe build a pillow fort.

Ginny hugged herself and said, "Well there's some good news. The OWLs have been cancelled."

"They've been what!"

Ginny grinned and said, "Yeah, I thought you would appreciate that. McGonagall said the Ministry is too busy and…well she said a lot. You'd think after all this time it'd be a relief, but…but it just makes everything feel even stranger."

Hermione sighed, and Ron joined them, ruffling Ginny's hair as he sat down. He inhaled a sausage and said, "Harry's not up yet."

"Did he sleep all right?" Ginny asked.

"He was all right," Ron said. "Just tired I think."

"He'll miss breakfast," Hermione said, thinking of how peaky Harry looked when he didn't eat.

"I've got it," said Ginny hurriedly, pushing some toast into a napkin. "I want to tell my exams are off anyway. I'll see you soon."

She stood and gave Ron a quick hug from behind before trotting off down the hall. Ron shook his head, but he was smiling as he reached across the table to take Hermione's hand. "How are you doing?" he asked.

* * *

Dumbledore's funeral was on a glorious day. It made Hermione feel nauseous. Everything, every horrible thing that had happened that night came flooding back – if it hadn't been for Ron she might have fallen apart completely.

But he held her. Her world narrowed to a strong pair of arms in faded dress robes and his voice in her ear. She barely noticed Harry walking away, and it wasn't until Percy joined them that she fully woke up to what was happening around her.

Ginny was sitting very still, her lips pressed together and her hands clasped stiffly in her lap. Percy surveyed her and Ron for one long moment and said, "It's very tragic…"

His voice trailed off, and Ron stood up sharply. He was just as tall as Percy now, and the two boys – men, Hermione corrected herself – stared at each other. She saw Ron clench his fist reflexively, and rose to put a hand on his arm. The last thing he needed was to get into a fight.

It was Ginny who broke it up by saying very distinctly, "You should talk to Mum and Dad."

Percy's skin flushed unpleasantly, but he walked away, Ron staring at him the whole time. Ginny stood up slowly and touched his elbow. "He's gone now," she said. "And you should go after Harry."

"_We_ should?" Ron said, startled at her phrasing.

Ginny nodded. "I think…I don't want him to be alone."

She was still holding herself rigid, and with a sinking feeling Hermione said, "What happened?"

Ginny looked away. "Harry just –" she paused and swallowed something, perhaps a sob. "We just broke things off." Her voice cracked horribly on the last word, and Hermione what had happened. Ginny had had nothing to do with it – it had been all Harry. Ginny seemed to shrink, growing even smaller as Ron stared at her.

Hermione touched her shoulder, and Ginny flinched. "Are you all right?" Hermione said.

Ginny shook her head reflexively. "I knew this was coming," she said. Her face was very white. "I don't know how I did, but I knew he was going to…"

"What happened?" Hermione said, more urgently. "What did he _say_?"

Ginny bit into her lip savagely. "It doesn't matter," she said. "It's not like it was a surprise, it's not like I didn't know…" Her face creased up for a moment, as though she were in terrible pain.

Wanting desperately to take that look off her face, Hermione said, "I don't understand – talk to me!"

"I can't!" Ginny said, her voice squeaking slightly and tears running down her cheeks. "I mean, I'm all right Hermione, or I will be, but…but I just…I need to be alone right now."

Ron looked helpless as Ginny turned on her hell and started to walk back to the castle. Hermione raced after her. "Come on Ginny," she said. "It'll be all right."

Ginny swallowed and said, "I know what you're doing, I do, and don't think I don't appreciate…but…but I just need to have my cry." She squared her shoulders and said, "I'll be all right in an hour or two. But you should go after Harry – he needs you."

Hermione nodded, making brief eye contact with Jules and Louise – Ginny shouldn't have to be alone if she didn't want to be. "Okay. Okay. But look," she said, putting her hands on Ginny's shoulders and looking into her eyes. "You can talk to me if you need to, or if you want to, okay. And you will?"

"Yeah," Ginny said, "I will. I promise."

Hermione stared at her, saw the tears that were longing to be shed in her eyes, and said the last thing she could think of – "I love you."

Ginny hugged her, smiling a tight little smile. "I know you do," she said.


End file.
